Geankoplis

Foodborne Illnesses Table: Bacterial Agents
Diagnosis and Management
of Foodborne Illnesses
A Primer for Physicians and
Other Health Care Professionals
Foodborne
Illnesses
Table:
BacterialAgents
American Medical Association
American Nurses Association-American Nurses Foundation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Food and DrugAdministration
Food Safety and Inspection Service,
US Department of Agriculture
February 2004
Foodborne Illnesses (Bacterial)
Etiology Incubation
Period
Signs and Symptoms Duration
of IllnessAssociated Foods Laboratory Testing Treatment
Bacillus anthracis 2 days to
weeks
Nausea, vomiting, malaise,
bloody diarrhea, acute
abdominal pain.
Weeks Insufficiently cooked
contaminated meat.Blood. Penicillin is first choice for naturally
acquired gastrointestinal anthrax.
Ciprofloxacin is second option.
Campylobacter
jejuni
2-5 days Diarrhea, cramps, fever,
and vomiting; diarrheamay
be bloody.
2-10 days Raw and undercooked poultry,
unpasteurized milk, contaminated
water.
Routine stool culture;
Campylobacter requires special
media and incubation at 42oC
to grow.Supportive care. For severe cases,
antibiotics such as erythromycin
and quinolones may be indicated
early in the diarrheal disease.
Guillain-Barré syndrome can be a
sequela.
Brucella abortus,
B.melitensis, and
B. suis
7-21 days Fever, chills, sweating, weakness,
headache,
muscle and joint pain, diarrhea,
bloody stools during
acute phase.
Weeks Raw milk, goat cheese
made fromunpasteurized
milk, contaminated meats.
Blood culture and positive
serology.
Acute: Rifampin and doxycycline
daily for ≥6 weeks. Infections with
complications require combination
therapy with rifampin,tetracycline
and an aminoglycoside.
Bacillus cereus
(preformed
enterotoxin)
1-6 hrs Sudden onset of severe
nausea and vomiting.
Diarrhea may be present.
24 hrs Improperly refrigerated
cooked...