Say Hello to Bacillus CereusEver wondered how people manage to reach any kind of meaningful age without suffering a terrible and agonizing death due to an infection caused by some or the other strange and exotic bug? 
Take for example Bacillus Cereus. I saw a lab result that highlighted bacterial contamination of a waste stream and was picked up during routine pathogen screening. By default its strange name elicited a instant chuckle when I heard it pronounced as Bacillus “serious” (Yep, I really must get out more often...). Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming bacterium that can be frequently isolated from soil and improperly cooked food. Bacillus Cereus spores are more resistant to heat and chemical treatments than vegetative pathogens such as Salmonella, E-coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria. Bacillus Cereus is categorized as a low-G+C firmicutes or “strong – skinned” rod-shaped bacteria, a division of bacteria, most of which have Gram-positive cell wall structure. So after all the sciency stuff, what does this serious Bacillus do? Short answer - it causes a very nasty form of food poisoning! Bacillus Cereus grows in food, it can cause two different types of food borne illness in humans – vomiting very shortly after eating contaminated food (affectionately known as Fried Rice Syndrome) or severe diarrhea after a longer incubation of between 8 and 17 hours. The diarrhea version or emetic form displays similar symptoms to poisoning caused by Clostridium perfringens. In extreme cases, Bacillus Cereus can also cause damaging and long term skin infections that are difficult to eradicate. How can this be avoided you may wonder. Well the simplest way to avoid nasty infections such as this is just to ensure that your food is properly cooked and to make sure that food is stored below 5 degrees Celsius. Also – your mother was right when she told you not to eat food that fell on the ground as the “frequently isolated from soil” part above clearly demonstrates. Bon Appetit....
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Tuesday March 09, 2010
Mad Cow DiseaseBovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes degeneration in the brain and spinal cord of infected animals. This disease may be transmitted to human beings who eat the brain or spinal cord of infected carcasses Related Articles
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