Botulism is a serious illness that causes flaccid paralysis of muscles. It is caused by a neurotoxin, generically called botulinum toxin, that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are seven distinct neurotoxins (types A-G) that Clostridium botulinum produce, but types A, B, and E (rarely F) are the most common that produce the flaccid paralysis in humans. The other types mainly cause disease in animals. Most Clostridium species produce only one type of neurotoxin.