In April 1998, the Thailand Ministry of Public Health identified an outbreak of botulism caused by consumption of contaminated home-canned bamboo shoots.
Botulism is a rare, but serious, paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin.
Bacterial spores that survive an inadequate cooking and canning process grow and produce toxin in the low oxygen environment of the canned food. Although botulism has long been recognized and confirmed in the United States and other developed countries, this is the first confirmed outbreak of botulism in Thailand. Thailand's Field Epidemiology Training Program served a critical role in the investigation, confirmation, and control of this outbreak which was limited to 13 cases and two deaths. Selected U.S. Cities 1991-1997 Sexual activity is down and condom use is up for teens in eight U.S. cities. From 1991 to 1997, HIV-related risk behaviors have decreased among high school students nationwide.