The Relation Between the Diarrheal and Other Biological Activities of Bacillus cereus Involved in Food Poisoning Outbreaks

Abstract

The culture filtrates of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from diarrheal-type and vomiting-type food poisoning outbreaks were examined for their enterotoxigenicity, vascular permeability-enhancing (VP) activity and mouse lethality. Seven of nine diarrheal strains were starch-hydrolysis positive; all vomiting ones were negative. All diarrheal strains elicited VP reaction; the vomiting strains did not. The mouse lethal activity of the diarrheal strains paralleled the VP activity; such was not the case with the vomiting strains. The culture filtrates of four diarrheal strains among eight and none of vomiting strains caused fluid accumulation in the mouse ileal loop. The concentrated (50-fold) culture filtrates of five diarrheal strains of eight caused fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops; only three of 21 vomiting strains did so.