A case of intoxication due to a highly cytotoxic <i>Bacillus cereus</i> strain isolated from cooked chicken

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 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 diarrhoeal strains, B. cereus MVL2011 could constitute an intermediate strain between diarrhoeal and emetic strains.