What Is Botulism?
Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky
6. Wound Botulism
In addition to causing problems by ingestion, the bacterium can also cause problems when it gets into open wounds. This is a condition commonly known simply as wound botulism, and the wound can be slight enough to not be noticed to begin with.
Once the bacteria get into the wound then they can begin to multiply. It will produce toxin as it usually would and, when enough of the toxin is being produced, the patient can start to experience symptoms. While the condition is fairly rare, it has seen an increase in prevalence in recent decades due to the sharing of needles when injecting heroin.
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