DEADLIEST POISONS KNOWN TO MAN - Most of the truly deadly poisons are neurotoxins. Death usually occurs from suffocation. Ricin is a deadly poison that comes from castor beans. A dose the size of a single grain of sand is enough to kill. The bacterium Clostridium botulinum produces a deadly neurotoxin called botulinum. The same toxin is found in Botox. Tetradotoxin or TTX is a powerful neurotoxin. Batrachotoxin found on the skin of poison dart frogs. Amatoxin is the deadly poison found in Amanita mushroom. Cyanide is a deadly poison that binds to iron in blood, preventing it from carrying oxygen to cells. A lethal dose kills in minutes. Nerve gas does not need to be inhaled to be effective. It can be absorbed through skin. Brodifacoum reduces the level of vitamin K in the blood, leading to internal bleeding and death. Strychnine is a neurotoxin that acts on spinal nerves, causing victims to contort and convulse. Polonium is toxic, plus the radioactivity breaks down the body's tissues.

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Deadliest Poisons

10 Deadliest Poisons Known to Man

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

A poison is a substance that causes death or injury when it's ingested, inhaled, or absorbed into the body.

Technically, anything can be a poison. If you drink enough water, you'll die. It's just a matter of dose.

So, this list covers poisons that are lethal at extremely low doses.

Why would anyone need such a list? It may be helpful if you're writing a murder mystery or wondering whether someone is out to get you. Maybe you're just curious...

Key Takeaways: 10 Deadliest Poisons

A poison is a substance that causes death or injury when it's ingested, inhaled, or absorbed into the body.

Technically, anything can be a poison. If you drink enough water, you'll die. It's just a matter of dose.

So, this list covers poisons that are lethal at extremely low doses.

Why would anyone need such a list? It may be helpful if you're writing a murder mystery or wondering whether someone is out to get you. Maybe you're just curious...

Key Takeaways: 10 Deadliest Poisons

The deadliest poisons in the world include chemical weapons; natural compounds; chemical defenses used by plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria; and even chemical elements.

Most of the truly deadly poisons are neurotoxins. Death usually occurs from suffocation when muscles become paralyzed and a person can't breathe.

Although all substances on this list are deadly, some are actually survivable with first aid or professional medical attention.

Ricin

Ricin is a deadly poison that comes from castor beans. A dose the size of a single grain of sand is enough to kill.

The toxin works by inactivating ribosomes and halting protein production, which is ultimately a lethal problem.

There's no antidote to the poison, although it's possible to survive if the dose is small enough.

Ricin was used to assassinate Bulgarian Georgi Markov in 1978.

While it isn't likely you'll encounter the purified poison, the toxin is found in seeds of the castor plant.

Swallowing the seeds whole won't poison you, but children and pets should be kept away from the interesting-looking beans because chewing them may release enough toxins to cause harm.

Botulinum Toxin (Botox)

The bacterium Clostridium botulinum produces a deadly neurotoxin called botulinum.

If the bacteria are ingested, botulism poisoning may result. You can get this from improperly sealed cans or bad meat.

Pain and temporary muscle paralysis is the best case scenario. Severe paralysis can stop a person from breathing, causing death.

The same toxin is found in Botox, where a tiny dose is injected to freeze muscles into place, minimizing wrinkles.

Botox attacks neurotransmitters so that contracted muscles are unable to relax.

Tetradotoxin

Tetradotoxin or TTX is a powerful neurotoxin that shuts down nerve conduction between the brain and the body by blocking sodium channels.

A minute dose can cause loss of sensation and paralysis, but just a tiny bit more paralyzes muscles you need working in order to live.

It takes around 6 hours to reach full effect, but once the diaphragm stops, the lungs can no longer inhale or exhale and you're a goner. Or, you could die sooner from an irregular heartbeat.

How do you get exposed? The puffer fish is used to prepare the Japanese delicacy fugu.

If the organs containing the toxin are damaged or incompletely removed, the dish is deadly.

The puffer isn't the only animal that carries this toxin. It's also found in some octopuses, flatworms, sea stars, angelfish, toads, and newts.

TTX is lethal whether it's inhaled, ingested, or absorbed directly into the bloodstream through a cut.

Batrachotoxin

Of all the toxins on this list, batrachotoxin is the one you're least likely to encounter (unless you live in a tropical rain forest).

The poison is found on the skin of poison dart frogs.

The frogs themselves are not the source of the toxin. It comes from the food they eat.

When you see these frogs in a zoo, rest assured they aren't eating deadly beetles, so they can't harm you.

The amount of the chemical depends on the species of frog. The golden poison frog from Columbia may carry enough toxin that touching it would expose you to enough batrachotoxin to kill around two dozen people.

The poison is a neurotoxin that interferes with sodium channel functioning. The result is paralysis and a quick death. There is no antidote.

Amatoxin

Amatoxin is the deadly poison found in Amanita mushroom, such as the fly agaric.

Eating one mushroom may be enough to end you, so it's not the very worst chemical on this list, but one you're more likely to encounter than some of the others (particularly if you know a cook you likes to pick wild mushrooms).

Amatoxin attacks the kidneys and liver. Eventually, the damage leads to a coma and death. It's not a quick death.

Cyanide

Cyanide is a deadly poison that binds to iron in blood, preventing it from carrying oxygen to cells. A lethal dose kills in minutes.

However, this toxin is so common in nature that the body detoxifies small amounts. It's found in seeds of apples, cherries, almonds, and apricots.

Hydrogen cyanide is a chemical weapon. It's said to smell like almonds, although the truth is, the odor of almonds is that of the cyanide they contain!

Nerve Gas

Any one of the nerve agents could be on the list of deadliest chemicals. Sarin, VX, and related compounds are far more deadly than most of the other compounds.

Sarin, for example, is about 500 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide.

Nerve gas does not need to be inhaled to be effective. It can be absorbed through skin.

While it's possible to survive an extremely low dose, the victim usually suffers some level of permanent neurological damage.

VX may be even more powerful, although the nerve agent was never used in battle, so there is less data on it.

VX inhibits an enzyme in the nervous system so that it constantly fires signals. Loss of control of bodily functions, suffocation, and convulsions lead to death.

Brodifacoum

Brodifacoum is a potent anticoagulant that reduces the level of vitamin K in the blood, leading to internal bleeding and death.

It's sold as a rodenticide under brand names including Talon, Jaguar, and Havoc.

While it kills rats because they eat the tainted bait, it doesn't do people or pets any favors either, since even touching it can cause exposure.

It permeates the skin and remains in the body for months. Animals that eat a poisoned rodent are also at risk.

Strychnine

Strychnine is a naturally-occurring poison, mainly obtained from seeds of the Strychnos nux-vomica tree.

It's a neurotoxin that acts on spinal nerves, causing victims to contort and convulse.

It's commercially available as a pesticide for killing gophers and rats.

Like Brodifacoum, it's dangerous to use because it presents a risk to children, pets, and other unintended victims.

Polonium

While there are many more compounds that could easily make this list, don't forget some chemical elements are deadly poisonous!

Lead and mercury are horribly toxic. There's no "safe" exposure to lead, while mercury is much worse in its organic form than as a pure element.

Polonium and other heavy, radioactive elements pack a double-whammy.

The element itself is toxic, plus the radioactivity breaks down the body's tissues.

The lethal dose of this element is much smaller than that of any other poison on this list. Ingesting just 7 trillionths of a gram is enough to kill an adult.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Chemistry Expert

Education

Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

Introduction

Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/deadliest-poisons-known-to-man-4058116

 

Ricin is a potent toxin that comes from castor beans. Although castor oil also comes from beans, it doesn't contain the poison. 

A Botox injection delivers a carefully controlled dose of the ordinarily deadly botulinum toxin. 

Puffer fish aren't the only animals that contain the venom tetradotoxin. It's also found in some types of octopus, newts, toads, and worms. 

The toxin batrachotoxin actually comes from the food poison frogs eat, not the frogs themselves.

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) produces deadly amatoxin. The poisonous mushroom takes a few days to kill a person, damaging the liver, heart, and kidneys. 

Apple seeds, cherry pits, and bitter almonds all contain cyanide. You'd have to eat a lot at once to get sick because your body can detoxify small amounts of the poison. 

US Marines Train for Toxic Chemical Terrorism. While nerve gas is deadly, exposure can be survivable in some cases.

Brodifacoum is a pest control chemical that kills by preventing clotting, causing massive internal bleeding. 

 Strychnine is a naturally-occurring poison that causes excruciating death as muscles contract and spasm. 

Polonium is a radioactive element that was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie. 

BOTULISM - Botulism is a serious disease caused by the botulinum toxin. The signs and symptoms depend on the type of botulism. Botulism is a serious illness caused by the botulinum toxin. The toxin causes paralysis. Paralysis starts in the face and spreads to the limbs. If it reaches the breathing muscles, respiratory failure can result. All types of botulism eventually lead to paralysis, so any case of botulism is treated as a medical emergency. In food-borne botulism, signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea followed by constipation and abdominal distention. There may be weakness and difficulty breathing. Symptoms normally appear between 18 and 36 hours after consuming the contaminated food, but this can vary between 3 hours and 8 days. In wound botulism, the nerves that connect the brain to the spine, known as the cranial nerves, experience the first symptoms. This then spreads to the rest of the body.

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Botulism

What is it and how can we prevent it?

Medically reviewed by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.

Written by Stephanie Brunner

Botulism is a serious illness caused by the botulinum toxin. The toxin causes paralysis.

Paralysis starts in the face and spreads to the limbs. If it reaches the breathing muscles, respiratory failure can result.

The toxin is produced by Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a type of bacterium.

All types of botulism eventually lead to paralysis, so any case of botulism is treated as a medical emergency.

In the past, it was often fatal, but antitoxins have significantly improved the outlook.

In 2015, the United States saw the biggest outbreak of botulism in 40 years. It stemmed from improperly home-canned potatoes that were shared at a potluck meal.

Symptoms

Botulism is a serious disease caused by the botulinum toxin.

The signs and symptoms depend on the type of botulism.

In food-borne botulism, signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea followed by constipation and abdominal distention. There may be weakness and difficulty breathing.

Symptoms normally appear between 18 and 36 hours after consuming the contaminated food, but this can vary between 3 hours and 8 days.

In wound botulism, the nerves that connect the brain to the spine, known as the cranial nerves, experience the first symptoms. This then spreads to the rest of the body. The incubation period is from 4 days to 2 weeks.

Neurological signs and symptoms of adult, food-borne, and wound botulism are the same, but the symptoms of wound botulism ones may take longer to appear.

The patient may experience double or blurred vision, the eyelids may droop, there will be facial weakness, a dry mouth, dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, and speech slurring. Muscles will become weak.

Next, paralysis will set in. Without treatment, the patient's breathing muscles will eventually become paralyzed, resulting in respiratory failure and death.

The patient remains conscious during this process.

In infant botulism, signs and symptoms may include:

constipation

poor feeding

bad temper

excessive drooling when feeding

sagging eyelids

flat facial expression

lethargy and listlessness

respiratory difficulties

slow or improper reflexes

weak crying weakly

floppiness and poor muscle tone

no gag reflex

unfocused eyes

weak sucking

The incubation period for infant botulism varies from 3 days to 30 days.

Causes

The botulinum toxin, a poison produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), is common in soil and exists in untreated water. It can survive in these environments as a resistant spore.

C. botulinum produces spores that can survive in poorly preserved or canned foods. Here, they produce a toxin. When consumed, even minimal amounts of the toxin can cause severe poisoning.

There are several types of botulism.

Foodborne botulism is caused by consuming foods containing the botulinum toxin.

Wound botulism can occur if the organism enters an open wound and produces toxins within the wound. Injection drug users are at risk for this type of botulism.

Infant botulism happens when an infant consumes the bacteria or their spores, and these grow in the gut. Infant botulism in the U.S. mostly comes from eating honey or corn syrup. The bacterium may also occur naturally in the stool of an infant.

Adult intestinal colonization is a rare form of botulism that occurs when the bacterium colonizes the digestive tract of an adult.

Latrogenic botulism can occur through an overdose of botulism toxin, or botox. Cases of this form of botulism have developed following therapeutic administration of botox.

Prevention

To reduce the risk of wound botulism, people are advised to seek urgent medical attention for any infected wounds and also to avoid injecting street drugs.

To ensure food safety, it is important to practice good food hygiene.

The toxin can thrive in improperly canned food.

Follow any instructions carefully when canning food at home, or avoid canning food at home

Boil home-processed foods for at least 10 minutes before eating, even if no signs of food spoilage are evident

Do not taste canned food items to see if they are still good. Throw away any cans that are bulging, leaking, or appear damaged

Keep potatoes that have been baked in foil hot until eaten

Not give honey or corn syrup to infants under 12 months of age

Ensure all foods are well-cooked

Keep oils infused with garlic or herbs in a refrigerator

Boiling can destroy both the vegetative, or non-spore, form of the bacterium, and the toxin it produces.

However, while boiling for 10 minutes can kill the toxin, to destroy the spore form requires heating to at least 248 degrees Fahrenheit, or 120 degrees Celsius, under pressure, for at least 30 minutes in an autoclave or a pressure cooker.

This is because the spores are highly resistant to harsh environments, and they can remain viable even after several hours of normal boiling.

The spores can be killed by very high temperatures such as those used in commercial canning.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five keys to safer food" stresses the importance of:

keeping clean

separating raw and cooked food

cooking thoroughly

keeping food at safe temperatures

using safe water and raw materials

This is important when people are traveling, especially to countries where access to clean water, hygiene, and refrigeration facilities may be limited.

Botulism cannot always be prevented. The toxin may be present in house dust, even after cleaning. Parents should be aware of any signs that a child is sick, and take early action as appropriate.

Food sources

The most commonly tainted foods are:

home-canned vegetables

cured pork and ham

raw or smoked fish

honey

corn syrup

For example, Home-canned foods and fermented fish and aquatic game from Alaska can be sources of the toxin.

Botulism does not grow in acidic foods with a pH of 4.5 or less.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of infant botulism is confirmed after testing a stool or specimen of enema.

If the doctor suspects botulism, treatment with an anti-toxin should begin immediately, without waiting for test results to come back.

A lab can confirm the presence of botulism.

If the patient's history and physical examination suggest botulism, a doctor may consider it, but as other conditions share similar symptoms, a test will be needed to rule these out.

Conditions with similar symptoms to botulism include stroke, myasthenia gravis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Diagnostic tests may include:

a brain scan

cerebrospinal fluid examination

electromyography

edrophonium chloride test for myasthenia gravis

If the toxin is identified in the food, stomach, vomit, feces, or intestinal contents, a definitive diagnosis can be made.

In very acute cases the toxin might be detected in the blood.

Treatment

Patients with botulism will need to be hospitalized.

Infants will be given Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous-Human, also known as BIG-V or BabyBIG.

Those with respiratory problems will be on a ventilator, and they may need the ventilator for weeks or months, as well as intensive nursing. Over time, the paralysis may improve.

A patient with suspected botulism will immediately be given injections of antitoxins, even before diagnostic test results have returned.

If the infection results from a wound, the wound needs to be treated surgically. The area around the wound is removed, in a process known as debridement.

Antibiotics may also be prescribed to prevent any secondary infection.

Complications

In most cases, infant botulism has no long-term effects.

According to the NIH, fewer than 1 percent of infant cases in the U.S. are fatal.

About 50 years ago, half of all patients with botulism died, compared to between 3 percent and 5 percent today.

Respiratory failure caused by botulism can result in death.

Patients with severe symptoms may need a breathing machine and sometimes intensive medical and nursing care for several months.

Fatigue and shortness of breath may linger for many years.

Other illnesses may develop as a result of the patient's condition, and these are sometimes fatal.

A person who experiences paralysis may recover from botulism with the help of antitoxins, antibodies that can neutralize the toxin, but antitoxins will not cure any paralysis that has already occurred.

Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.Dr. Jill Seladi-Schulman is a manager for clinical trials. She specializes in microbiology and infectious disease. In 2014, she graduated from Emory University with her doctorate in microbiology and molecular genetics. Dr. Seladi-Schulman has publications in peer-reviewed journals and has had her work featured on the cover of the Journal of Virology. Dr. Seladi-Schulman is an avid reader with interests in medical writing and communcation. She also enjoys writing fiction for fun.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173943.php

BOTULISM - Botulism spores (the resting stage of the bacteria) are abundant in anaerobic habitats, such as soils, and aquatic sediments of many lakes and can be readily found in the gills and digestive tracts of fish living in those lakes. The spores can remain in the ecosystem for extended periods of time, even years, and are quite resistant to temperature changes and drying. These spores, themselves, are harmless until the correct environmental factors and anaerobic conditions prompt them to germinate and begin vegetative growth of the toxin-producing bacterial cells.The active bacteria that cause botulism only grow in a nutrient-rich substrate, such as areas with large amounts of decaying plant growth, which are free of oxygen (anaerobic).

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Botulism

Botulinum toxin in water

Robert S.

I was told that if a bucket of water and dirt/organic matter sits around for a long time, anaerobic bacterial activity can result in the formation of botulinum toxin in the water and muck.

I was warned to be very careful in cleaning and and reusing such a bucket due to the risk of poisoning.

Also the same thing for vases that sit around for very long periods of time.

Is there any truth in this? Are there any risks in disposal of the bad-smelling contents of the bucket/vase?

Thanks.

Based on the information below, I do not believe that casual contact with water in buckets/vases where it was standing, it seems you would need to ingest the water for deleterious effects to occur.

This information is from the Michigan Sea Grant Program, they developed it since botulism has become an issue with birds in the region: http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/explore/coastal-communities/avian-botulism/faqs-botulism-in-the-great lakes/#canigetbotulism

Where does botulism come from

Botulism spores (the resting stage of the bacteria) are abundant in anaerobic habitats, such as soils, and aquatic sediments of many lakes and can be readily found in the gills and digestive tracts of fish living in those lakes.

The spores can remain in the ecosystem for extended periods of time, even years, and are quite resistant to temperature changes and drying.

These spores, themselves, are harmless until the correct environmental factors and anaerobic conditions prompt them to germinate and begin vegetative growth of the toxin-producing bacterial cells.

The active bacteria that cause botulism only grow in a nutrient-rich substrate, such as areas with large amounts of decaying plant growth, which are free of oxygen (anaerobic).

Fish that die for any reason and that contain the bacterial spores in their tissues are also suitable substrates for growth and toxin production by the bacteria.

Can I get botulism?
Botulism in humans is usually caused by the consumption of improperly home-canned foods and is most often a result of the Type A or Type B botulinum toxin.

A few cases of Type E botulism in humans have been reported in North America as the result of eating improperly smoked or cooked fish, but these cases are very rare.

Thorough cooking is necessary to destroy the bacteria and bacterial toxins. Consult your local health agency for recommended cooking temperatures.

As a precaution, any fish or waterfowl that are sick or act abnormally should not be harvested or eaten because cooking may not destroy the botulism Type E toxin.

Robert S.

Associate Professor - Water Resources
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