Bugs Causing Diarrhea and Food Poisoning Bug Transmission Comments Staphylococcus aureus Custards, mayonnaise/potato salad, canned meats Symptoms start and end quickly Bacillus cereus Reheated rice, food kept warm but not hot Symptoms start and end quickly Clostridium botulinum Canned food, home-canned alkaline vegetables -- Clostridum perfringens Reheated meat Watery diarrhea Clostridium difficile Endogenous, nosocomial NOTE: not food poisoning Watery diarrhea E. coli (EHEC - no invasion, no WBCs; EIEC - invasion + WBCs) Undercooked meat, contaminated food, fecal-oral Bloody diarrhea E. coli (ETEC) Undercooked meat, contaminated food, fecal-oral Watery diarrhea Legionella pneumophila contaminated water (especially in smokers) Pneumonia, fever, diarrhea, hyponatremia Salmonella enteridis Chicken products (eggs, raw chicken) Diarrhea may be bloody Shigella dysenteriae Fecal-oral Bloody diarrhea Campylobacter jejuni Poultry, unpasteurized milk, fecal-oral Bloody diarrhea with pus Vibrio cholerae Fecal-oral Watery diarrhea ("rice water stools") Vibrio parahaemolyticus/vulnificus Seafood, sushi (leading cause of diarrhea in Japan) -- Yersinia enterocolitica Contaminated milk, pork, pet feces Bloody diarrhea Brucella Unpasteurized dairy products -- Adenovirus Fecal-oral Watery diarrheaPediatric Norwalk virus Fecal-oral Watery diarrhea Pediatric Reovirus Fecal-oral -- Rotavirus Fecal-oral Watery diarrheaInfant mortality Giardia lamblia Fecal-oral Watery diarrheaAssociated with campers/hikers Entamoeba histolytica Fecal-oral Bloody or watery diarrhea Cryptosporidium Fecal-oral Watery diarrhea Diarrhea in AIDS Taenia solium Pork Intestinal tapeworm, neurocysticercosis Taenia saginata Beef Intestinal tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum Fish Intestinal tapeworm
QUESTIONS 1 of 1 1 Previous Next (M1.MC.15.35) A 23-year-old man returns from vacation in Eastern Europe. He reports he had been eating new, strange foods, and had been swimming daily in a local river for exercise. He reports that since returning home, he has had daily watery diarrhea. He denies having any blood in his stools. You order a particular stool test, and the results are shown in Figure A. What is the cause of his diarrhea? QID: 104920 FIGURES: A Type & Select Correct Answer 1 Giardia 17% (16/92) 2 Cryptosporidium 54% (50/92) 3 E. coli 23% (21/92) 4 S. aureus 0% (0/92) 5 B. cereus 2% (2/92) M 2 Question Complexity D Question Importance Select Answer to see Preferred Response SUBMIT RESPONSE 2 Review Tested Concept Review Full Topic