Botulism is caused by Clostridium botulinum which is naturally found in soils, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. There are several types, but food caused botulism is the primary one of concern. There are stages in the life cycle of C. botulinum that can withstand boiling and freezing, and still be dangerous. The botulism toxin is one of the most dangerous poisons known to man. It is estimated that just several ounces of this toxin cold destroy the entire USA population. This toxin can easily appear in home canning operations of non-acidic foods.

The Bergey's Manual gives us a methodology of some preliminary divisions of Bacteria. This is group (13) in his breakdown. These are endospore forming, gram-positive rods and cocci. Aerobic to anaerobic. Diseases caused by this group include anthrax poisoning, food poisoning, tetanus, botulism,and gangrene.

Eubacteria, the true Bacteria, is the group that contains most of the Bacteria that impact on our daily lives. Some of the diseases caused by Bacteria are: Cholera, Lyme Disease, Strep Throat, Scarlet Fever, Typhoid, Syphilis, and Gonorrhea.

Science has only begun the task or properly organizing this group of lifeforms into a taxonomy tree. The medical profession has begun with the disease causing organisms and has worked from the bottom up. They have been using various shapes and various forms of locomotion for criteria. On the other micro-biologists have been working from the top down. The result is a large open area in the middle. Here we have arbitrarily used the Bergey system for organizing disease causing bacteria in the first several classes, and have placed the algae groups in the higher classes.

Monera phylum includes the various bacteria. These are somewhat cellular organisms, but they lack a cell nucleus. Many of these organisms cause serious illness in humans. The diseases include Botulishm, Cholera, Diptheria, Gonorrhea, Lyme Disease, Plagues, Salmonellosis, Syphilis, Tetanus, Typhoid, and TB.

Monera kingdom includes the various bacteria. These are somewhat cellular organisms, but they lack a cell nucleus. Many of these organisms cause serious illness in humans. The diseases include Botulishm, Cholera, Diptheria, Gonorrhea, Lyme Disease, Plagues, Salmonellosis, Syphilis, Tetanus, Typhoid, and TB.

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