CI Perfringens Food Poisoning
CI Perfringens Food Poisoning
Agent
CI Perfringens (Welchii).
Source
The organism has been found in feces of humans and animals, and in soil, water and air. A majority of outbreaks have been associated with the ingestion of meat, meat dishes and poultry. The usual story is that the food has been prepared and cooked for 24 hours or more before consumption, and allowed to cool slowly at room temperature and then heated immediately prior to serving.
Incubation Period
About 6 to 24 hours, with a peak from 10 to14 hours.
Mechanism of Food Poisoning
The spores are able to survive cooking, and if the cooked meat and poultry are not cooled enough, they will germinate. The organisms multiply between 30 deg. C. and 50 deg. C. and produce a variety of toxins, e.g. alpha toxin, theta toxin, etc. Prevention consists either by cooking food just prior to its consumption or, if it has to be stored, by rapid and adequate cooling.
Clinical Symptoms
The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and little or no fever, occurring 8 to 24 hours after consumption of the food. Nausea and vomiting are rare, illness is usually of short duration, usually one day or less. Recovery is rapid and no deaths have been reported.
B Cereus Food Poisoning
Bacillus Cereus is an aerobic, spore–bearing, motile, gram positive rod. It is ubiquitous in soil, and in raw, dried and processed foods. The spores can survive cooking and germinate and multiply rapidly when the food is held at favorable temperatures. B Cereus has been recognized as a cause of food poisoning with increasing frequency in recent years.
Recent work has shown that B. Cereus produces at least two distinct enter toxins, causing two distinct forms of food poisoning . One, the emetic form with a short incubation period (1–6 hours) characterized by predominant upper gastro–intestinal tract symptoms, rather like Staphylococcal food poisoning, characterized by predominantly lower intestinal tract symptoms like CI Perfiringens food poisoning (diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea with little or no vomiting and no fever). Recovery within 24 hours is usual. The toxins are preformed and stable. Diagnosis can be confirmed by isolation of 10 deg. of more B. Cereus organisms per gram of epidemiologically incriminated food. Treatment is symptomatic.
