Metody stosowane do wykrywania i identyfikacji toksyn botulinowych w próbkach klinicznych i żywności*

Botulism is a severe neuroparalytic illness, which affects the nervous system. It is caused by botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), produced by anaerobic gram-positive bacteria Clostridium botulinum. There are 7 serotypes of BoNT A-G, but BoNT A/B/D/E plays a major role in botulism affecting humans. Foodborne botulism (classic botulism) is the most frequent clinical manifestation occurring after consumption of food containing botulinum neurotoxins. The diagnosis of botulism is based on clinical symptoms; however, recommended and alternative laboratory methods are used to confirm the etiology of symptoms and the identification of BoNT toxin type. The aim of this work was to present the epidemiology of foodborne botulism in Poland and to gather and analyze the available diagnostic methods that allow us to detect BoNT in clinical samples. Using the epidemiological reports of National Institute of Hygiene in Poland and findings presented in the Przegląd Epidemiologiczny, the incidence of classical botulism in Poland has been presented over a period of recent 18 years. Searching for the optimal diagnostic method for BoNT identification in various samples, we have confronted the sensitivity and specificity of recently available alternative methods with classical biological assay.