1 Fast, labored breathing: Fluid in the smallest airways (the alveoli) causes pneumonia, an infection due to a virus or bacteria. 2  Pneumonia causes fast, labored breathing, occasionally cyanosis, a persistent cough, and crackly sounds (rales) when listened to with a stethoscope.
Definition of BOTULINUM. : a spore-forming bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) that secretes botulinum toxin.â botÂ·uÂ·liÂ·nal \-ËlÄ«-nÉl\ adjective. a spore-forming bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) that secretes botulinum toxin.
C. botulinum is responsible for foodborne botulism (ingestion of preformed toxin), infant botulism (intestinal infection with toxin forming C. botulinum), and wound botulism (infection of a wound with C. botulinum).. botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium. It is an obligate anaerobe, meaning that oxygen is poisonous to the cells. However, C. botulinum tolerates traces of oxygen due to the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is an important antioxidant defense in nearly all cells exposed to oxygen.