Word: antitoxins
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...hospital with similar symptoms did doctors, who had not seen a case of the disease in nearly 40 years, suspect that the couple had contracted botulism, a deadly form of food poisoning. Mrs. Cochran, though in critical condition at week's end, may still be saved by the antitoxin that was rushed to her from an out-of-town laboratory...
Preventable Poison. Botulism, however, need not be fatal if diagnosed in time and treated promptly. Supplies of antitoxin against the three main types of botulin poisoning known to affect humans are stockpiled at the U.S. Public Health Service's Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Authorities warn that the antitoxin should be administered only after certain diagnosis since panicky patients who are suffering from other forms of food poisoning can have dangerous or even fatal reactions to it. They add that botulism need not be contracted at all. Because bringing food to a boil destroys the odorless and usually...
Died. Dr. Paul de Kruif, 80, bacteriologist and author of laymen-oriented medical books: of a heart attack: in Holland, Mich. Holder of a Ph.D. in microbiology but no medical degree, De Kruif developed an antitoxin for gas gangrene, helped produce a successful treatment for syphilis before penicillin was used. He wrote 13 books, among them the bestsellers Hunger Fighters and Microbe Hunters. He also collaborated with Sinclair Lewis on Arrowsmith, which dealt with a onetime country doctor. Answering whispers that he had ghosted the book for Lewis, De Kruif said: "This is wrong. But Lewis would have been completely...
Japanese chemists are also hard at work on a more practical chore: finding an antidote for tetrodotoxin poisoning. But success may not be applauded by risk-loving gourmets. When a bottle of antitoxin is standing in every restaurant, the dangerous fugu will have become just another fish; fugu roulette will have lost its excitement, and something unique will have vanished from Japanese culture...
Treatment is just as handicapped. Since five types of botulin bacteria produce different brands of poison, five kinds of antitoxin are needed. Only two are produced in the U.S., by a single company (Lederle Laboratories). "If I find a case of Type E botulism," Dr. Petty said, "I'll have to send to Denmark or Japan for the antitoxin...