National Botulism Surveillance
Since 1973, the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch (EDEB), Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases (DFBMD), the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED), in partnership with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), has maintained an intensive National Botulism Surveillance System for cases of botulism in the United States.
All data regarding antitoxin releases and laboratory confirmation of cases are recorded annually by CDC and published on this website. Because CDC, the Alaska Division of Public Health, and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS), are the only sources of botulism antitoxin administered in the United States, nearly all recognized cases of botulism are reported.
Recent annual summaries of botulism surveillance reported to the CSTE:
- 2011 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary
(PDF - 188KB) - 2010 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 521KB)
- 2009 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 525KB)
- 2008 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 106KB)
- 2007 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 250KB)
- 2006 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 30KB)
- 2005 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 78KB)
- 2004 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 146KB)
- 2003 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 512KB)
- 2002 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 490KB)
- 2001 CSTE Botulism Surveillance Summary (PDF - 375KB)
Suspected Botulism Case Consultation
To identify possible cases and outbreaks of botulism as rapidly as possible, CDC provides clinical and epidemiologic consultation, distributes antitoxin, and provides laboratory diagnostic services to state and local health departments in suspected non-infant botulism cases. Infant botulism consultation and surveillance are handled by the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), Division of Communicable Disease Control (DCDC), California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Physicians are urged to contact their departments of health as soon as they suspect that a patient may have botulism. State health departments maintain emergency contact numbers and have been provided with detailed CDC guidelines on diagnosis, management, and prevention of botulism. Consultation at EDEB is available 24 hours a day for emergency response to state and local health departments or physicians treating potential cases of botulism at (770) 488-7100. Consultation with the National Botulism Reference Laboratory in the Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch on microbiological issues relating to botulism diagnosis is also available through the same route. Consultation for infant botulism is also available 24 hours a day by IBTPP of the CDPH at (510) 231-7600. In concert with the state epidemiology offices, CDC epidemiologists and microbiologists recommend appropriate laboratory testing (performed either at CDC or in state laboratories) and ancillary studies to either confirm or rule out the diagnosis.
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED)