MEDizzy - Two hours after attending a company picnic, many individuals

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Infections and diseases 1

Two hours after attending a company picnic, many individuals who attended the picnic develop an acute gastrointestinal illness. Food poisoning caused by Staphylococcus aureus is suspected. All of the following characteristics would be a common feature of food poisoning due to this organism EXCEPT

ExplanationAcute bacterial food poisoning occurring 1 to 6 hours after ingestion of contaminated food is most commonly caused by infection with Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus. S. aureus is associated with ingestion of ham, poultry, potato or egg salad, mayonnaise, or cream pastries that have been allowed to remain at room temperature after cooking. B. cereus is classically associated with contaminated fried rice. The symptoms of bacterial food poisoning begin abruptly with nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea. However, fever is not a common finding and should cause one to consider other etiologies of vomiting and diarrhea.