Botulinum Neurotoxins, a Real Bioterrorism Threat: A Classic Review

Botulism is very dangerous type of food poisoning caused by botulinum neurotoxins, which are entered into the blood and eventually into nerve cells. Due to the very high military agent.
In this cross sectional study, the English and Persian sources and reports were searched based on information and data collected from Internet sources and published literature from 1990 to 2016 in the relevant databases such as PubMed, Scopus, SID, Google Scholar and by using the keywords including "Bioterrorism", "Biological weapon", "Botulism".
Botulinum neurotoxins are one of the most powerful known toxins in the world. These toxins have a polypeptide structure and are formed by two heavy and light chains that are connected by a disulfide bond. A light chain of metalloendopeptidase with a molecular weight of 50kDa can enter the nerve terminals by the heavy chain (100kDa) and by the breakdown of proteins called SNARE is involved in secretion of neurotransmitters, especially acetylcholine and can stop the secretion, which can result in flaccid paralysis and death.
Botulinum neurotoxins can cause mass casualties and have an adverse impact on public health. Hence, great efforts need to achieve broad-based public health preparedness. These neurotoxins have also a moderate to high potential for large-scale dissemination. These factors can make botulinum neurotoxins as a primary candidate in bioterrorism and environmental threats.