This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bott, T. L. Articles by Sugiyama, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bott, T. L. Articles by Sugiyama, H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Bacteriol. 1968 May; 95(5): 1542-1547
Copyright © 1968 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Possible Origin of the High Incidence of Clostridium botulinum Type E in an Inland Bay (Green Bay of Lake Michigan)¹

^a Department of Bacteriology and Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

ABSTRACT

Bottom and shoreline sediments of Green Bay, northern Lake Michigan, and rivers of the Green Bay drainage basin, as well as soils of the surrounding land mass, were examined for Clostridium botulinum type E. Detection was based on identification of type E toxin in enrichment cultures and was influenced by many factors. Testing smaller amounts of sample in multiple cultures was more productive than examining large inocula in fewer cultures. Incubation at 30 C was unsatisfactory, but 14 days at 20 C or 7 days at 25 C gave good results. Mild heating (60 C for 30 min) of specimens reduced the incidence of positive findings. Freezing enrichment cultures prior to testing for toxicity eliminated many nonbotulinal toxic substances that killed mice. A control culture inoculated with type E spores was employed to show whether a specimen contained factors which could mask the presence of type E. Samples from 708 stations were tested in 2,446 cultures. Type E was found in nearly all underwater specimens of Green Bay and northern Lake Michigan but was present less frequently in samples taken along their shores. The incidence was still lower in the rivers emptying into Green Bay with the organism being rare on the shores of these rivers and in the soils of the land mass proper. Samples from the upper reaches of the rivers practically never contained type E. Runoff could deposit type E spores in Green Bay, but this is not considered to be the major factor in the high incidence of the organism. Multiplication in the bay itself is indicated.

¹ Published with permission of the Director, Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station.