A case of intoxication due to a highly cytotoxic Bacillus cereus strain isolated from cooked chicken. (April 2015) - López, Ana C.
Abstract: Outbreaks of Bacillus cereus infection/intoxication are not commonly reported because symptoms are often mild, and the disease is self-limiting. However, hypervirulent strains increase health risks. We report a case, which occurred in Argentina, of severe food poisoning illness on a healthy adult woman associated to B. cereus strain MVL2011. The studied strain was highly cytotoxic, showed high ability to detach Caco-2 cells and was positive for the hblA, hblB, and hblC genes of the hbl complex, bceT, entS and ces. As it is considered that B. cereus emetic cluster evolved from a panmictic population of diarrheal strains, B. cereus MVL2011 could constitute an intermediate strain between diarrheal and emetic strains. Highlights: A Bacillus cereus strain (MVL2011) isolated from cooked chicken caused severe poisoning in a healthy woman. The woman was hospitalized due to severe dehydration. B. cereus MVL2011 was highly cytotoxic and unable to invade Caco-2 cells in spite of adhesion ability. Strain MVL2011 could belong to the "emetic cluster".