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Botulism Outbreak In Lancaster Prompts Questions

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Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, and can be found in food that is canned incorrectly.

Health officials in Ohio say the number of people sickened from a suspected botulism outbreak after a church picnic has risen to 23, with one person dead.

So what is botulism? How does it affect infected people? How can people get it?

We wanted to know more about… so we called Dr. Dennis Cunningham, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Nationwide Children's Hospital here in Columbus.