Botulism - Prevention 

Food-borne botulism

Due to the high standards of food hygiene in the UK, the chances of getting food-borne botulism from food brought in this country are virtually nil.

There is a slightly higher risk if you manufacture your own food, particularly if this involves canning. However, following standard food hygiene procedures and canning recommendations will reduce any risk.

Wound botulism

If you are a heroin user, avoid injecting heroin into your muscles. An intravenous injection (an injection into a vein) or smoking heroin is a safer way to take the drug.

However, the safest course of action is to stop using heroin altogether. Your GP will be able to refer you to your local community drug treatment team.

Methadone programmes are available to help people with heroin addictions to stop using heroin. Methadone is much safer than heroin because, unlike heroin, it does not contain any impurities, and it can be taken in liquid form. Ask your GP or drug counsellor for more information about methadone.

See the Health A-Z topic about Drug misuse for more information and advice about drug addiction and recovery.

Infant botulism

In the majority of cases of infant botulism, no specific cause has ever been identified. Therefore, it may not always be possible to prevent the condition occurring.

However, it is recommended that you should avoid giving honey or corn syrup to children who are under 12 months old because they have been known to contain bacterial spores.