Why is botulism a health disaster?

Botulism is a food-borne illness caused by a toxin made by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. While minute amounts may be therapeutic when they paralyze isolated muscles for neuromuscular diseases, contaminating the food supply with Clostridium spores can be a public-health disaster of monumental proportions. Paralysis and death come fast and furious when the muscles that control breathing shut down.