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L/FOG Temp: 46 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, November 22, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend June 8, 2002 Since You Asked Botulism bug seldom found in water I read your recent story about some of our local creeks containing E. coli bacteria, which is scary enough, but someone told me some of the local creeks also have botulism in them. Is this true? — M. Rickson, Talent Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism (the often fatal poisoning caused by botulin, the nerve toxin the bacterium produce), would be a pretty tough bug to breed in creeks. Commonly found in soil, it generally requires a low-oxygen environment to flourish. Most botulism, and it is extremely rare with about 110 annual cases in the United States reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, occurs when susceptible infants harbor the bacterium in their intestines. Twenty-eight percent of the cases come from someone who eats home-canned or other contaminated food that wasn’t properly prepared or a drug user contracts it through a needle wound. E. coli, on the other hand, is an annual problem in our creeks during the summer months when creek flows slow to a relative trickle. Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S