Émile Pierre-Marie van Ermengem (1851-1932) was a Belgian bacteriologist who, in 1895, isolated Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism, from a piece of ham that had poisoned three people.

He worked at the University of Ghent. His sons were the writer Franz Hellens and the art critic François Maret.

[edit] Bibliography

• Pina M. Fratamico, Arun K. Bhunia, James L. Smith. Foodborne pathogens: microbiology and molecular biology. Horizon Scientific Press, 2005. Page 385.