Studies in- Forage Poisoning V. 61 



by horses and mules in natural outbreaks of forage poisoning 

 in Central Kentucky. 



Food Requirements of B. botulinus. 



A resume of the literature indicates that vegetable as 

 well as meat products may become contaminated with B. 

 botulinus and superinduce clinical botulism in man follow- 

 ing ingestion. The occurrence of a disease in man clinically 

 resembling botulism is cited by van Ennengem following the 

 ingestion of oysters (Feilchenfelt, Brosch), crabs (Boehm, 

 Fischer), corned beef (Dumesnil, Barker), game and duck pies 

 (Quincke, Cohn), dressed geese (Guttmann), smoked or salted 

 fish (Reicz, Schreiber, Hirschfeld, Alexander, David, Tscher- 

 nyschew), sturgeon, caviar and salmon (v. Arep, Arustamoff, 

 N. Schmidt, Smolensky) 18 ; also cited by Dickson of California 

 following the ingestion of home canned pears (Peck 19 ) ; canned 

 string beans (Wilbur and Ophuels 20 ). Original observations 

 seemed to associate B. botulinus infection in man with the 

 ingestion of contaminated meat. The term "botulism" is, 

 however, receiving a broader interpretation from time to time 

 and it seems that the reported clinical cases contribute suffi- 

 cient evidence to incriminate various foods. Quite definitely 

 in this connection Dickson 21 of California described outbreaks 

 of clinical botulism in man following the ingestion of canned 

 fruits and vegetables ; in one case from eating home-canned corn, 

 in another from eating home-canned string beans, and in still 

 another from eating home-canned apricots. These observa- 

 tions are made even more significant by the occurrence of 

 fatalities in chickens that incidentally received a portion of 

 these products. From the crops and gizzards of three chickens 

 and from the gizzard of one chicken fatally affected from 

 ingesting canned corn that had apparently been associated 

 with an outbreak of botulism in man, an anaerobic bacillus 

 resembling B. botulinus was isolated (Dickson 22 ) which upon 



18 Handb. d. path. Mikroog., IV. 1912, p. 911 (cited by van Ermengem). 



19 South California Pract., 1910, XXV, p. 121 (cited by Dickson). 



20 Arch. Int. Med., Oct. 1914, p. 589 (cited by Dickson). 

 21 Cal. State Jour. Med., April, 1916. 



22 Jour. Amer. Vet. Med. Ass'n, Vol. L, 1917, New Series Vol. 3, No. 5, 

 pp. 612-613. 



