ABSTRACT
Bacillus cereus is a peritrichously agellated, gram-positive, hemolytic, facultatively anaerobic rod-shaped bacterium producing endospores. Several distinct clinical forms of food poisoning can result from B. cereus. Food poisoning outbreaks due to B. cereus can result in profuse watery diarrhea (“diarrheal syndrome”) as a result of large numbers of spores germinating in the intestine and undergoing vegetative growth and toxin production. Alternatively, the emetic form (“emetic syndrome”) can occur and is associated exclusively with starchy foods such as cooked rice and is characterized by rapid onset within 1 to 5 hr resulting in nausea, vomiting, and malaise, which in some cases is followed by diarrhea with different toxins being involved.
