Bacterial toxins play an important role in infectious diseases. Several are
amongst the most potent biological agents known to man. Cholera, pertussis,
botulinum, clostridium and tetanus toxins are all produced by bacteria. In many
cases, it is the toxin produced and not the infectious agent itself that causes
pathology. Botulinum toxin has now of course found clinical application as
botox, and anthrax, and other toxins, have potentially devastating effects if
misused as an agent of biological terror. This book describes the major
achievements and discoveries relevant to bacterial protein toxins since the turn
of the new century, illustrated by the discovery of more than fifty novel toxins
(many