Diagnosis | Botulism

Diagnosis of botulism begins with basic information:

• History:the number and category of attacked animals, presence of carcasses in the pasture, etc.

• Analysis of the clinical case: Interpretation of the clinical signs found in the affected animals.

• Results obtained with prophylactic measures: eliminated or decreased numbers of cases after the adoption of the prophylactic measures.

Definitive diagnosis of botulism is only establish with toxin identification:

• Isolation of toxigenic cultures and identification of the involved type C or D toxin with the aid of serum neutralization in mice or guinea-pigs.

• Toxin detection in clinical samples collected for laboratory analysis (intestinal contents, serum, liver,etc).