*An Overview of Bacterial Toxigenesis and a Potential Biological Weapon in Warfare DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114054*

including acetylcholine, within neuromuscular junctions, ultimately causing relaxation and paralysis of skeletal muscles. The first symptoms appear within a few to 36 h of poisoning with the toxin. Irrespective of the type, there are similar clinical indications of poisoning irrespective of the type. Primarily, the symptoms of speech and swallowing difficulties, double and blurred vision, anxiety, lack of saliva and tears appear followed by a loss of control over the body, and atrophy of the throat reflex. Afterwards, respiratory muscle paralysis lead to respiratory failure, and this is considered as main cause of death of infected patients [48, 49]. Botulinum toxin is considered the most toxic substance in the known world as the estimated mice LD50 for parenteral administration is 1 ng/kg [50]. It is the only biological toxin, that has been classified by the CDC in Atlanta as a Category A bio agent and the lethal dose for a human weighing about 70 kg is 0.7–0.9 μg of inhaled toxin, or 70 μg of poison ingested with food. This toxin is not resistant to chemical and physical agents. It is degraded at 85°C in 5 min, and is destroyed by sunlight within 1–3 h. Furthermore, it is instantly depurated by chloride or H2O2 [51]. Botulism is treated based on the quickest administration of botulinum antitoxin, preferably 24 h after the first symptoms, because antitoxin neutralizes only toxin molecules that are not yet attached with nerve endings. The antitoxin can cause the adverse reactions as well, such as post-surgical disease, anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity. Moreover, many cases require mechanically assisted respiration and supportive treatment (with a return to selfreliance in up to 2–3 months), [49, 52, 53]. There are two approaches that are being used for the development of vaccines against botulism. In first approach, a native BoNT is being used to develop chemically-inactivated toxoid and the second is using recombinant techniques to produce BoNT derivates [54]. During a bioterrorist attack, botulinum toxin may be deployed in aerosol form or by contaminating water and food during a bioterrorist attack. The efficiency of the neurotoxin is equally high, regardless of route of entrance, due to having almost similar disease symptoms. A bioterrorist attack with botulinum neurotoxin is difficult to identify and only an increase in the number of victims with symptoms of toxin poisoning could show its use in a bioterrorist attack [55, 56].
