What Is Botulism? Experts Discuss Otto Warmbier's Coma and Health Condition

What led to Otto Warmbier's year-long coma remains unverified, and authorities are now in a race to save the 22-year-old University of Virginia student's life.

When Warmbier was detained in North Korea after being sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for "hostile acts against the state," North Korean authorities said he had contracted botulism and was thus given a sleeping pill to aid his condition. He never woke up after that.

Now that he has returned to the United States and is still in a coma, experts have yet to confirm whether Warmbier indeed contracted botulism and how the sleeping pill triggered the coma.

Botulism is a rare and serious disease that most commonly results from ingesting contaminated food or a wound that is infected by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which produces a highly potent toxin. The disease progresses quickly, with symptoms typically manifesting within 12 to 36 hours. The disease will attack after four hours. Initial effects include blurred vision, impaired speech and difficulty in breathing and swallowing.

According to Orlando Health physician Jamin Brambhatt, botulism is treated with an antitoxin, adding that "time is of the essence" when seeking treatment, USA Today reported.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Pritish Tosh, an infectious disease physician, said that coma is not a typical complication in cases of botulism. Despite progressive paralysis brought about by the disease, patients with botulism normally tend to be mentally alert. There are instances, however, that patients that need to be put on a ventilator and may need to be placed in a medically induced coma as part of "supportive care."

Similarly, Brambhatt said that botulism isn't likely to cause coma, but an excessive dose of sleeping medication could lead to it.

Meanwhile, Warmbier is still under observation and officials are still waiting for a full evaluation of his condition from doctors. A second senior State Department official further told CNN that the United States has not yet accepted North Korea's version of the events until they can verify it together with their own findings.