title: Plasmid, serotypic, and enterotoxin analysis of Bacillus cereus in an outbreak setting.
abstract: Bacillus cereus is a recognized agent of food-borne disease. In this report we describe an outbreak of B. cereus gastroenteritis associated with consumption of beef stew among patients and staff at a Rhode Island nursing home. The beef had been improperly stored after preparation. The predominant symptoms of the illness were cramps and diarrhea; it lasted an average of 16 h. No deaths occurred. The organism was recovered from 10 of 23 stools collected from ill patients and 1 of 21 stools collected from controls (P = 0.0044, Fisher's two-tailed exact test). All isolates had the same biotype and serotype, newly designated H.26; all elaborated the diarrheal B. cereus enterotoxin when tested in rabbits by the vascular permeability reaction; and all had identical plasmid profiles, which differed from those of B. cereus strains selected randomly from other outbreaks. Plasmid analysis may prove to be a useful new tool in investigating outbreaks of B. cereus food poisoning.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000032:analysis; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010957:Plasmids; D011817:Rabbits; D012703:Serotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins