Foodborne botulism outbreak involving different nationalities during the Rugby World Cup: critical role of credit card data and rapid international cooperation, France, September 2023

Approaching toxigenic Clostridia from a one health perspective

Spore-forming pathogens have a unique capacity to thrive in diverse environments, and with temporal persistence afforded through their ability to sporulate. Their prevalence in diverse ecosystems requires a One Health approach to identify critical reservoirs and outbreak-associated transmission chains, given their capacity to freely move across soils, waterways, foodstuffs and as commensals or infecting pathogens in human and animal populations. Among anaerobic spore-formers, genomic resources for pathogens including C. botulinum, C. difficile, and C. perfringens enable our capacity to identify common and unique factors that support their persistence in diverse reservoirs and capacity to cause disease. Publicly available genomic resources for spore-forming pathogens at NCBI's Pathogen Detection program aid outbreak investigations and longitudinal monitoring in national and international programs in public health and food safety, as well as for local healthcare systems. These tools also enable research to derive new knowledge regarding disease pathogenesis, and to inform strategies in disease prevention and treatment. As global community resources, the continued sharing of strain genomic data and phenotypes further enhances international resources and means to develop impactful applications. We present examples showing use of these resources in surveillance, including capacity to assess linkages among clinical, environmental, and foodborne reservoirs and to further research investigations into factors promoting their persistence and virulence in different settings.

Botulism in fish: a review

Published information about fish botulism is scant. We review here the current literature on fish botulism. Freshwater fish are susceptible to botulism. Only anecdotal evidence exists about possible botulism cases in saltwater fish. With only a few exceptions, the etiology of all cases of fish botulism reported is Clostridium botulinum type E, although fish are sensitive to, and may carry, various C. botulinum types. Clinical signs of botulism in fish include loss of equilibrium and motion, abducted opercula, open mouths, dark pigmentation, and head up/tail down orientation in which attempts to swim result in breaching the surface of the water. Dark pigmentation is thought to be associated with acetylcholine imbalance in botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT)-affected fish. Rarely, but similar to the situation in other animal species, fish can recover from botulism. Fish botulism can cause secondary outbreaks of the disease in birds, as botulism-affected fish stand out from normal fish, and are selectively preyed upon by fish-eating birds, which thus become intoxicated by the BoNT present in sick fish. The source of BoNT in fish has not been definitively confirmed. Fish may ingest C. botulinum spores that then germinate in their digestive tract, but the possibility that fish ingest preformed BoNT from the environment (e.g., dead fish, shellfish, insects) cannot be ruled out. The presumptive diagnosis of botulism in fish is established based on clinical signs, and as in other species, confirmation should be based on detection of BoNT in intestinal content, liver, and/or serum of affected fish.

Approaching pathogenic Clostridia from a One Health perspective

Spore-forming pathogens have a unique capacity to thrive in diverse environments, and with temporal persistence afforded through their ability to sporulate. These behaviors require a One Health approach to identify critical reservoirs and outbreak-associated transmission chains, given their capacity to freely move across soils, waterways, foodstuffs, and as commensals or infecting pathogens in human and veterinary populations. Among anaerobic spore-formers, genomic resources for pathogens including C. botulinum, C. difficile, and C. perfringens enable our capacity to identify common and unique factors that support their persistence in diverse reservoirs and capacity to cause disease. Publicly available genomic resources for spore-forming pathogens at NCBI's Pathogen Detection program aid outbreak investigations and longitudinal monitoring in national and international programs in public health and food safety, as well as for local healthcare systems. These tools also enable research to derive new knowledge regarding disease pathogenesis, and to inform strategies in disease prevention and treatment. As global community resources, the continued sharing of strain genomic data and phenotypes further enhances international resources and means to develop impactful applications. We present examples showing use of these resources in surveillance, including capacity to assess linkages among clinical, environmental, and foodborne reservoirs and to further research investigations into factors promoting their persistence and virulence in different settings.