Patient recovery from type A botulism: Morbidity assessment following a large outbreak

J.M. Mann, S. Martin, R. Hoffman and S. Marrazzo

American Journal of Public Health, 1981, vol. 71, issue 3, 266-269

Abstract: A large outbreak of foodborne botulism provided an opportunity to study the recovery from type A botulism in a group of 27 patients. Patients were interviewed either 9 or 13 months after the outbreak, and a written questionnaire was mailed at 24 months, to obtain information on each patient's symptom complex and on subsequent symptom resolution. Recovery from symptoms of botulism was slow. Patients reported that resolution of 50% of their original symptoms occurred by an average of 5 months. Thirteen of 14 patients contacted 13 months after onset of botulism reported some persistent symptoms. This study, although limited to interview data, strengthens the concept of a prolonged recovery phase in botulism, as previously suggested in individual case reports. Physicians and other health workers caring for patients with botulism should anticipate physical and psychological problems resulting from a lengthy and difficult convalescent period.

Date: 1981
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.71.3.266

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.71.3.266_2

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.71.3.266

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().