FOOD POISONING CAUSED BY GRAM POSITIVE SPORE FORMING BACTERIA

Bacillus cereus

Introduction of Bacillus cereus

Considered a minor foodborne panthogen, but one that is increasingly important. Bacillus cereus disease is not notifiable. B. cereus causes <2% of foodborne cases of identifiable origin in the United States, The prevalence is as high as 30% in Europe. B. cereus does not compete well with other vegetative cells.

Characteristics of the Organisms

o Bacteria : aerobic rod shaped bacterium .
B.anthracis B. cereus

B. mycoides

B. weihenstephanensis

Bacillus cereus group

B. thuringiensis

B. pseudomycoides

o B. anthracis the most distinctive member of this group. highly virulent pathogenicity. notoriety as an agent for biological warfare. o B. thuringiensis natural bioinsecticide caused cases of B. cereus food poisoning.

Environmental Sources
o soil and growing plants.

o B. cereus always problematic in dairy foods.

Spread to cows udders and into raw milk

Present in soil at 10^5 /g

Causing problems in many milk productions

Survive milk pasteurization

Characteristics of Disease
2 type B. cereus foodborne illness

Emetic toxin

Enterotoxin(s)

Result : vomiting

Result : diarrhea

o The incubation time ( >6 hours ; average ; 12 hours ) is too long for diarrheal illness. o Enterotoxin(s) form in food B. cereus population is at least 100fold higher than that necessary.

Dose
Foodborne illness in Oslo, Norway ( from vanilla sauce )
- Grew it to 4 x 10^6 cells / ml - Drank 200 ml of the culture Food containing >10 B. cereus organisms/g not safe to eat.

13 hours later, abdominal pain and watery diarrhea

Enough toxin to produce illness is probably 10^5 and 10^8 cells.

B. cereus ranging from 200 to 10^9 organisms /g (or ml)

Total dose approximately 5 x 10^4 cells/ml to 1 x 10^11 cells/ml.

The Emetic Toxin

o the recent discovery that Hep-2 cells could detect the toxin has led to its purification and structure determination. o The emetic toxin is now named cereulide. o Cereulide has 3 repeats of four amino acid and/or oxyacids [ D-O-Leu-D-Ala-L-O-Val-L-Val ]3 o Resistant to autoclaving, a wide range of pH values (2 to 11) and digestion by proteases.

Enterotoxins

o Microslide diffusion tests are used to detect B. cereus diarrheagenic and staphylococcal enterotoxins. o Antiserum to the toxin is put into well 1 and reference toxin is put into well 3. o Test sample are put into wells 2,4, and 5. o When the antiserum and toxin diffuse from their respective wells and meet, a precipatation line is formed. o (A) Test where the food samples are negative but a line is formed with the known enterotoxin. o (B) Test where the sample in well 4 contains enterotoxin. o (C) Photo of actual results, where samples in wells 2 and 4 (but no 5) are positive for toxin.

Controls
o Handling the food in the right way. o Store the milk production between the temperature 4 to 8C. o Avoid cross contamination.