TY - JOUR AU - Hernandez-de Mezerville, Marcela AU - Rojas-Solano, Mariela AU - Gutierrez-Mata, Alfonso AU - Hernandez-Con, Laura AU - Ulloa-Gutierrez, Rolando PY - 2014/01/15 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Infant botulism in Costa Rica: first report from Central America JF - The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries JA - J Infect Dev Ctries VL - 8 IS - 01 SE - Case Reports DO - 10.3855/jidc.3594 UR - https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/24423723 SP - 123-125 AB - <p class="SmallText">Introduction:<strong> </strong><em>Clostridium botulinum</em> is known to cause descending paralysis in infants throughout the world.</p> <p class="SmallText">Methodology: The subject of this study was a three-month-old Costa Rican boy who was hospitalized because of poor suction and feeding, hypotonia, and constipation. Clinical history and physical examination findings suggested infant botulism. Samples were sent to the Winnipeg Public Health Laboratory, where <em>Clostridium botulinum</em> toxin A was identified by PCR and culture from the stools, making this the first report of infant botulism in Central America.</p> <p class="SmallText">Conclusions: Although infant botulism is a known disease, the limitations in identifying it in Central America contributes to the misdiagnosis and under-reporting of this disease.</p> ER -