A baker cut his finger while slicing a cake. After a week, site of the injury is red and swollen, and begins draining pus. While preparing some custard pies, he contaminates the dish with drainage from the lesion. The pies were eaten a day later by customers of the restaurant. Within 4 hours they developed vomiting with no fever. Most likely cause?
This is the history of staphylococcal food poisoning. It is associated with consumption of milk and milk products containing preformed, heat-stable enterotoxin. The incubation period is less than six hours and main manifestation is vomiting.
Bacillus cereus
Clostridium perfringens
Escherichia coli
Staphylococcus aureus