products produced by castleberry's food company in its augusta, georgia plant. it was later identified that the castleberry's plant had serious production problems on a specific line of retorts that had under-processed the cans of food. these issues included broken cooking alarms, leaking water valves and inaccurate temperature devices, all the result of poor management of the company. all of the victims were hospitalized and placed on mechanical ventilation. the castleberry's food company outbreak was the first instance of botulism in commercial canned foods in the united states in over 30 years. one person died, 21 cases were confirmed, and 10 more were suspected in lancaster, ohio when a botulism outbreak occurred after a church potluck in april 2015. the suspected source was a salad made from home-canned potatoes. a botulism outbreak occurred in northern california in may 2017 after 10 people consumed nacho cheese dip served at a gas station in sacramento county. one man died as a result of the outbreak. united kingdom the largest recorded outbreak of foodborne botulism in the united kingdom occurred in june 1989. a total of 27 patients were affected; one patient died. twenty-five of the patients had eaten one brand of hazelnut yogurt in the week before the onset of symptoms. control measures included the cessation of all yogurt production by the implicated producer, the withdrawal of the firm's yogurts from sale, the recall of cans of the hazelnut conserve, and advice to the general public to avoid the consumption of all hazelnut yogurts. china from 1958 to 1983 there were 986 outbreaks of botulism in china involving 4,377 people with 548 deaths. qapqal disease after the chinese communist revolution in 1949, a mysterious plague (named qapqal disease) was noticed to be affecting several sibe villages in qapqal xibe autonomous county. it was endemic with distinctive epidemic patterns, yet the underlying cause remained unknown for a long period of time. it caused a number of deaths and forced some people to leave the place. in 1958, a team of experts were sent to the area by the ministry of health to investigate the cases. the epidemic survey conducted proved that the disease was primarily type a botulism, with several cases of type b. the team also discovered that the source of the botulinum was local fermented grain and beans, as well as a raw meat food called mi song hu hu. they promoted the improvement of fermentation techniques among local residents, and thus eliminated the disease. canada from 1985 to 2005 there were outbreaks causing 91 confirmed cases of foodborne botulism in canada, 85% of which were in inuit communities, especially nunavik, as well as first nations of the coast of british columbia, following consumption of traditionally prepared marine mammal and fish products. ukraine in 2017, there were 70 cases of botulism with 8 deaths in ukraine. the previous year there were 115 cases with 12 deaths. most cases were the result of dried fish, a common local drinking snack. vietnam in 2020, several cases of botulism were reported in vietnam. all of them were related to a product containing contaminated vegetarian pâté. some patients were put on life support. other susceptible species botulism can occur in many vertebrates and invertebrates. botulism has been reported in such species as rats, mice, chicken, frogs, toads, goldfish, aplysia, squid, crayfish, drosophila and leeches. death from botulism is common in waterfowl; an estimated 10,000 to 100,000 birds die of botulism annually. the disease is commonly called "limberneck". in some large outbreaks, a million or more birds may die. ducks appear to be affected most often. an enzootic form of duck botulism in the western us and canada is known as "western duck sickness". botulism also affects commercially raised poultry. in chickens, the mortality rate varies from a few birds to 40% of the flock. botulism seems to be relatively uncommon in domestic mammals; however, in some parts of the world, epidemics with up to 65% mortality are seen in cattle. the prognosis is poor in large animals that are recumbent. in cattle, the symptoms may include drooling, restlessness, incoordination, urine retention, dysphagia, and sternal recumbency. laterally recumbent animals are usually very close to death. in sheep, the symptoms may include drooling, a serous nasal discharge, stiffness, and incoordination. abdominal respiration may be observed and the tail may switch on the side. as the disease progresses, the limbs may become paralyzed and death may occur. phosphorus-deficient cattle, especially in southern africa, are inclined to ingest bones and carrion containing clostridial toxins and consequently develop lame sickness or lamsiekte. the clinical signs in horses are similar to cattle. the muscle paralysis is progressive; it usually begins at the hindquarters and gradually moves to the front limbs, neck, and head. death generally occurs 24 to 72 hours after initial symptoms and results from respiratory paralysis. some foals are found dead without other clinical signs. clostridium botulinum type c toxin has been incriminated as the cause of grass sickness, a condition in horses which occurs in rainy and hot summers in northern europe. the main symptom is pharynx paralysis. domestic dogs may develop systemic toxemia after consuming c. botulinum type c exotoxin or spores within bird carcasses or other infected meat but are generally resistant to the more severe effects of c. botulinum type c. symptoms include flaccid muscle paralysis, which can lead to death due to cardiac and respiratory arrest. pigs are relatively resistant to botulism. reported symptoms include anorexia, refusal to drink, vomiting, pupillary dilation, and muscle paralysis. in poultry and wild birds, flaccid paralysis is usually seen in the legs, wings, neck and eyelids. broiler chickens with the toxicoinfectious form may also have diarrhea with excess urates. prevention in non-human species one of the main routes of exposure for botulism is through the consumption of food contaminated with c. botulinum. food-borne botulism can be prevented in domestic animals through careful inspection of the feed, purchasing high quality feed from reliable sources, and ensuring proper storage. poultry litter and animal carcasses are places in which c. botulinum spores are able to germinate so it is advised to avoid spreading poultry litter or any carcass containing materials on fields producing feed materials due to their potential for supporting c. botulinum growth. additionally, water sources should be checked for dead or dying animals, and fields should be checked for animal remains prior to mowing for hay or silage. correcting any dietary deficiencies can also prevent animals from consuming contaminated materials such as bones or carcasses. raw materials used for silage or feed mixed on site should be checked for any sign of mold or rotten appearance. acidification of animal feed can reduce, but will not eliminate, the risk of toxin formation, especially in carcasses that remain whole. vaccines in animals vaccines have been developed for use in animals to prevent botulism, the availability and approval of these vaccines varies depending on the location, with places experiencing more cases generally having more vaccines available and routine vaccination is more common. a variety of vaccines have been developed for the prevention of botulism in livestock. most initial vaccinations require multiple doses at intervals from 2–6 weeks, however, some newer vaccines require only one shot. this mainly depends on the type of vaccine and manufacturers recommendations. all vaccines require annual boosters to maintain immunity. many of these vaccines can be used on multiple species including cattle, sheep, and goats with some labeled for use in horses and mules as well as separate vaccines for mink. additionally, vaccination during an outbreak is as beneficial as therapeutic treatment in cattle, and this method is also used in horses and pheasants. the use of region specific toxoids to immunize animals has been shown to be effective. toxoid types c and d used to immunize cattle is a useful vaccination method in south africa and australia. toxoid has also been shown to be an appropriate method of immunizing minks and pheasants. in endemic areas, for example kentucky, vaccination with type b toxoid appears to be effective. use in biological warfare and terrorism united states during america's research of biological warfare under the cia in fort detrick, anthrax and botulism were widely regarded as the two most effective options. during the 50s, a highly lethal strain was discovered during the biological warfare program. the cia continued to hold 5 grams of clostridium botulinum, even after nixon's ban on biological warfare in 1969. during the gulf war, when the united states were concerned with a potential biowarfare attack, the efforts around botulism turned to prevention. however, the only way to make antitoxin in america until the 90s was by drawing antibodies from a single horse named first flight, raising much concern from pentagon health officials. iraq iraq has historically possessed many types of germs, including botulism. the american type culture collection sold 5 variants of botulinum to the university of baghdad in may 1986. 1991 cia reports also show iraqis filled shells, warheads, and bombs with biological agents like botulinum (though none have been deployed). the iraqi air force used the code name "tea" to refer to botulinum, and it was also referred to as bioweapon "a." japan a japanese cult called aum shinrikyo created laboratories that produced biological weapons, specifically botulinum, anthrax, and q fever. from 1990 to 1995, the cult staged numerous unsuccessful bioterrorism attacks on civilians. they sprayed botulinum toxin from a truck in downtown tokyo and in the narita airport, but there are no reported cases of botulism as a result.