Bacillus cereus is an aerobic, spore-forming, gram-positive, rod. It is motile, non-encapsulated, and resistant to penicillin. It causes food poisoning. (Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.) Spores germinate in reheated rice, then the bacteria produce exotoxins, which when ingested cause food poisoning.
Clinical
Two syndromes can occur.
1. After a short incubation period of about 4 hours, nausea and vomiting occurs. This is similar to staphylococcal food poisoning. It is also called emetic syndrome. (1-5 hours). Results in severe nausea and vomiting but limited diarrhea. Self-limiting. Usually recovery occurs within 24 hours.
2. After a long incubation period of about 18 hours there is watery, non-bloody diarrhea resembling clostridial gastroenteritis. Fever and and vomiting are usually absent. This is called diarrheal syndrome (15-20 hours): Causes nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea lasting for 12-24 hours. This is why this toxin is mostly called the enterotoxin.
* Comprehend the characteristics and transmission routes of Bacillus cereus.
* Identify the exotoxins produced by Bacillus cereus and their associated clinical syndromes, including emetic and diarrheal presentations. \
* Outline the clinical manifestations and management strategies for Bacillus cereus food poisoning.
* Recognize the spectrum of non-foodborne infections caused by Bacillus cereus and understand their potential complications.
MD., MSc., MSc., BSc
Mobeen Syed is the CEO of DrBeen Corp, a modern online medical education marketplace. Mobeen is a medical doctor and a software engineer. He graduated from the prestigious King Edward Medical University Lahore. He has been teaching medicine since 1994. Mobeen is also a software engineer and engineering leader. In this role, Mobeen has run teams consisting of hundreds of engineers and millions of dollars of budgets. Mobeen loves music, teaching, and doing business. He lives in Cupertino CA.
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marykuffner@*.com
Oct 25 2022, 9:12 pm
Good information. Thank you!