A new type of botulinum toxin – the deadliest substance known – has been discovered. Because it does not yet have an antidote, the DNA sequence behind it has been withheld from public databases. This is the first time a sequence has been kept secret over security concerns.
Injecting a mere 2 billionths of a gram, or inhaling 13 billionths of a gram, of the protein botulinum produced by the soil bacterium Clostridium botulinum will kill an adult. The toxin blocks the release of acetylcholine, the chemical secreted by nerves that makes muscles work. People who accidentally ingest it, as can happen when the bacteria grow in food, develop botulism and often die of paralysis.
Victims are treated with monoclonal antibodies, which are immune proteins produced artificially that react with the seven families of botulinum – named A to G – discovered so far.
Stephen Arnon and colleagues at the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento report this week that they have found an 8th toxin – type H – in the faeces of a child who had the typical symptoms of botulism.
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