Once the muscles of the chest and diaphragm are involved, respiration is inhibited. Respiratory failure and pneumonia are the greatest threat to life. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea may precede the neurological symptoms. Treatment is with antitoxin developed from horse serum. The quicker antitoxin is administered, the sooner the progression of the disease can be halted.
Recovery is a slow process because it generally takes months for nerves to regenerate.
Weakness may persist for as long as a year after onset of the disease. Growing Problem Since 1966, the yearly incidence of botulism in Alaska has increased from 1.2 cases per 100,000 population to 15.2 cases per 100,000, according to a 1988 report in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. In fact, the problem has become so acute that the national Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta now stocks its Arctic Research Station with botulism antitoxin. Normally, the antitoxin has to be requested and distributed directly from the agency in Atlanta. The animals are often slaughtered on the beach or on ground where contact with bacteria from the soil or viscera is unavoidable.