Clostridium Botulinum Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clostridium Botulinum - Research Paper Example Furthermore, these spores may at times get into the human gastrointestinal system and can be able to withstand the hostile environment. Once the spores reach the colon, some germinate to produce the bacteria, but in cases of adults, often cannot withstand competition from the normal microflora. However, in infants, due to lack or few existing microflora, these organisms often take advantage of multiplying and causing infections through production of botulinum toxin. In relation to botulinum toxin, there exist several types: Toxin A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. There are only types A, B, E and rarely F, which mostly cause the flaccid paralysis symptom in humans. The other types often cause disease in animals. Botulinum toxin often results to a condition called botulism. Botulism This is a paralytic illness that results due to the botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin. People often get the toxin in their bodies via ingestion of contaminated foods already having botulinum toxin, th rough the bacteria infecting a wound and producing the toxin, and through consuming spores that produce the bacteria that finally produces the toxin to cause the condition (Smith 34). From the three modes of in which botulinum toxin could get into the human body system, one could identify three types of botulism namely; food borne botulism, wound botulism and infant botulism. Botulism is a fatal condition and all times considered medical emergencies. Botulism neurotoxins often prevent neurotransmitters in the nervous system from functioning properly. In fact, they usually inhibit the functioning of the motor control. A patient often exhibits paralysis stating from top to bottom, beginning from the eyes, face as it moves down the neck, chest, upper limbs and lower limbs (Shneider, Chang & Goodrich). Botulism often produces symptoms 12 to 72 hours on ingestion of contaminated food. Symptoms of botulism generally appear 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food.   Infant botulism This type of botulism accounts for the most number of cases reported of botulism. It often affects children due to having few or lacking microflora in their colon (Hauschild 40). In homes, improperly canned foodstuffs often the spores of the bacteria, which upon ingestion by infants, result to overgrowth of the bacteria in the colon leading in production of botulinum toxin. Symptoms In infant botulism, symptoms exhibited include poor appetite, lethargy, constipation, drooling, weak cry, poor feeding, paralysis and drooling eyelids. The general symptoms which botulism poisoning produce entail fatigue, nausea, vomiting, double vision, dizziness, dry skin, dry throat, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, body aches, muscle weakness, and paralysis (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). Treatment Treatment can be instituted in the early period before the toxin takes toll of the nervous system completely. An antitoxin is often administered in such cases (Emmeluth & Alcamo 67). T he antitoxin functions by blocking the circulating botulinum toxin In the blood thereby limiting its action. This form of treatment only prevents the worsening of the patient’s condition. Patients from such incidences often take several weeks to recover completely from the effect. Prevention In relation to the three types of botulism and the mode through which the toxin gets to enter the human body, preventive measures can be

Evaluate an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Evaluate an Argument - Essay Example The author further states that the information may be true but, but since the experts do not review the site’s access; there is a substantial peril in relying on this resource for your academic works (Isites.harvard.edu, n.d.). As with the conclusion of the argument, the author clamps the whole argument against the use of Wikipedia and suggests that Wikipedia is good for use for some functions. For instance, they can be used for becoming accustomed or background information of what one is researching (Isites.harvard.edu, n.d.). For the validation of the argument to hold, it means that all of their premises that support the argument are all true and the conclusion must ultimately be true. The argument in this article is valid because the premises are well linked to the conclusion. In terms of soundness, the argument is not sound even if it is deductive and logically valid; it has some mythical arguments that habitually make it unsound. When viewed from an inductive perspective, which holds on the basis of probability, that if the premises given are true then conclusion is most likely to be true. The inductive argument employed here is strong- it holds on the assumption that the conclusion of X is probably true if the premises of X are true. The deductive is valid as per the author’s premises for a number of reasons, which include; the contributors are not expertise and are anonymous and, therefore, their credibility is questionable; the information or articles on the website are out-of-date and may be posted by someone who wants to just mislead the audience; and because the administrators do not review the site’s access. Based on these validations, it clear that the deductive argument is true and valid since its conclusion sustains all the premises stated therein. However, the deductive argument in the article is not sound because of the following. Several