What is the typical incubation period range for infant botulism after exposure?

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Infant botulism involves spores that colonize an infant’s gut and produce toxin there, so the timing of symptoms depends on how long that colonization and toxin production take. Because the toxin is not present in the food yet and must be generated in the intestine, the onset is delayed and variable, typically spanning days to weeks after exposure. The range that fits most cases is about 5 to 45 days, accommodating the natural variation in how quickly colonization occurs and toxin reaches levels that cause symptoms. Short intervals like a few hours or days don’t reflect the need for gut colonization, while a timeframe of a couple of weeks is less precise for describing the usual course. Keeping the window broad to 5–45 days helps clinicians consider infant botulism even when exposure and onset aren’t tightly linked.