Toxins are poisons produced by living organisms. Epidemics of staphylococcal food poisoning are very common across the world. But, there is hardly any report of SFP from the Indian subcontinent. An outbreak occurred in Indian country, the Madhya Pradesh’s state after the ingestion of a snack that made up with potato balls fried in vegetable oil, called “Bhalla”. More than 100 children and adults who ate the snack suffered from the normal side effects of SFP and required hospitalization. From the clinical sample of food, there were found a large number of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus that appeared (Vijay et al., 2007). Hence, one of the seven enterotoxins that produced by strains of Staphylococcus aureus was Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB).
Staphylococcal enterotoxins B is commonly referred to as superantigen due to it significant effects on the immune system. Only a few concentrations of superantigens can activate immune system receptors because they bind to T-cell
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There was specific enthusiasm in weaponizing SEB exposed in the Cold War Era due to its stability and potential simplicity in production and distribution. SEB was studied in an aerosolized form for use as a weapon. It may be purified from culture supernatants in the laboratory, and therefore would be easy to produce (Pinchuk et al., 2010). Although high-dose exposures may well cause fatalities, it is the weakening consequences of inhalational exposure to agents such as SEB on the battlefield that are of most concern with regard to biological resistance (Ulrich, n.d.).The extremely small amount of material that is required for toxic effect indicates that a complex is necessary for the toxin to exert its effect. SEB can represent a practical bioterrorist weapon because purified toxin can be isolated from S. aureus culture
In the case of the Salmonella gastroenteritis outbreak after a reception, the origin of the illness comes down to the potato salad served at this event, however, the investigators are not certain of the mechanism of contamination. Whether the service worker (infected) might have unknowingly contaminated the food item or whether the food service worker also was infected through the same source as the case-patients remains unclear.2 Because the mechanism is unclear, it’s hard to identify if any of the ingredients in the potato salad were the culprit. In many cases, however, investigators are able to identify the mechanism for contamination.
Clostridium difficile is a gram positive, spore forming anaerobic bacillus, which may or may not carry the genes for toxin A-B production (Nipa, 2010). These two types of protein exotoxins produced by the Clostridium difficile bacillus, toxin A and toxin B, can have an infectious form and a non-active, non-infectious form (Grossman, 2010). The infectious form can survive for a short duration of time in the environment. The spores can survive for a longer period of time in the environment and are not infectious unless and until they are ingested or are transformed into an infectious state (Nipa, 2010).
Foodborne illness, or food poisoning, happens everyday in the U.S. and it is estimated that 48 million people are affected by it every year. Of these 48 million, 128,000 end up in the hospital and 3000 of them die from foodborne pathogens (Tucker, 2014). Foodborne illnesses can be caused by biological, chemical, or physical contaminants. The biological contaminants consist of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Chemical contaminants are pesticides, cleaning supplies, and toxic chemicals. Physical contaminations are dirt, glass, wood, splinters, stones, hair, jewelry, and metal shavings (Tucker, 2014). Salmonella, a bacterium, has been the most common reported cause of food poisoning. Salmonella is most commonly exposed to humans through animal feces and it is usually from animals that give us beef, poultry, and dairy products. People who do not wash their hands after being around animals can also transmit salmonella into our food. The symptoms of Salmonella are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever (Tucker, 2014). The symptoms will usually resolve on their own in healthy people but may become life threatening in those with compromised immune systems. In order to prevent Salmonellosis, raw eggs should be avoided, as well as undercooked meat, shellfish, and unpasteurized milk and juice (Tucker, 2014). It is also important to always practice hand hygiene before handling any uncooked food products. Escherichia Coli, otherwise known as E. coli, is
Before posting the payment from Violet, the MA should enter in the payment, double check the information that was typed in and look at a copy of a EOB (explanation of benefits). When a patient receives an EOB they tend to think it’s a bill that needs to be paid. Typically, on the bottom of the page will show that an EOB is not a bill. An EOB is typically a statement that shows what the patients insurance company was billed for and what the patient has to pay in regards to their coverage of insurance. However, an EOB could also show a payment paid by the payer or a write off. EOB’s have a lot of information on them, which is nice to check for errors. We could check the DOS, fee charge, code used to bill the patient and what the patient is expected
CNIB provides support to Canadians who may be partially sighted or blind. They would like their clients to real their full potential by making them feel more comfortable and confident by suggesting specific skills they should enhance and also, giving them opportunities to get involved within their community or within the organization. The people who work for CNIB have all different employment backgrounds. Some people may be specialized in certain fields, but majority of the workers are actually volunteers. This method of referral is very important so people can reach their full potential and it also promotes independence. The main goal for all clients is that they will be able to look past their vision impairment and recognize they can do anything
A) Emerging Infectious Diseases reported an example of a real life outbreak of community-acquired foodborne illness caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in January 2002, from the Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. A family purchased a dinner of shredded barbeque pork and coleslaw from a convenience and delicatessen market. The pork was reheated in the home microwave, and three adults ate the food after it was bought. Three to four hours after eating the meal, the three adults who had not eaten another common meal together in the preceding week had nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. The two children who did not eat the food did not become sick. Two of the three adults were hospitalized for evaluation, and then they were treated and released.
The United States thereby agreed to destroy any remaining stockpiles of chemical warfare agents no later than April 29, 2012 (Center for Disease Control, 2013). The National Institutes of Health ( NIH) CounterACT program was initiated by the United States government in 2006 to facilitate research aimed at improving therapeutic countermeasures and diagnostic technologies against chemical threat agents. In order to convene NIH CounterACT researchers and other leaders in the chemical defense field, Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, New York Medical College, and the New York Academy of Sciences hosted the 9th Annual CounterACT Network Research symposium titled, Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats, on June 15–17, 2015. This symposium will brought together chemists, toxicologists, drug developers, pharmacists, clinicians, and public health researchers. The meeting offered NIH CounterACT scientists the opportunity to present their latest research findings for the purpose of sharing this information with their fellow researchers and program officials (The New York Academy of Sciences, 2015).
Foodborne illnesses is an important problem in the United States, which cause a total of 19,056 infections, 4,200 hospitalizations, and 80 deaths were reported in 2013. Moreover, foodborne illnesses cost the United States an estimated $152 billion per year in healthcare (Scharff, 2010; CDC, 2014). E. coli O157 belonged Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), it was usually classified pathotypically as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) (Bryan et al., 2015). Between 2000 and 2010 have 5688 cases of O157 STEC infections were reported by FoodNet sentinel states, while the rate of O157 STEC infection decreased from 2.17 to 0.95 per 100,000 (Gould et al., 2013). By the way, Magwedere et al. (2013) also reported retail ground meat samples were purchased at grocery stores, local farmers’ markets, and online vendors, out of 16 ground chicken samples, 7 samples tested positive for O157 STEC. On the other hand, E. coli also causes diverse extraintestinal infections by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), urinary tract infections (UTI) is a good example to illustrate. The economic burden associated with urinary tract infections is estimated to be approximately 1.5 billion in the United States annually. According to previous studies, the food animal and meat reservoir might exist and isolate from retail chicken meat products for UPEC (Jakobsen et al., 2010; Shortlidge et al., 2013; Natalie et al., 2015). In recent research suggested UPEC besides the ability to
Clostridium perfringens is known to be one of the most spread foodborne pathogen in the world, generally referred to as the "food service bug.” There are two types of food poisoning, identified as, type A and type C. Type A is the most common human disease, which is caused by a bacterial disease that discharge alpha-toxins in uncooked or improper handled of meat. This type of food poisoning, although usually mild, can have some devastating outcomes to any individuals’ health. The side effects of bacterial contamination can go from swelling, stomach discomfort, gas gangrene infection and even cause death. The injuries caused by gas gangrene known as “Clostridial myonecrosis,” that multiplies throughout the surface of the skin as the gases are released from its alpha-toxins, in which the bacterium's aging process of digestion results in immediate tissue
Rotavirus: is a common cause of gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Rotavirus is a non-enveloped, double-shelled virus with a double-stranded RNA genome. The virus is capable of infecting the epithelial cells of small intestine, leading to decrease in production of digestive enzymes and cell death. As a result of epithelial cells damage, the absorption of fluids by small intestine is interrupted which leads to watery diarrhea. [1]
Overall Scientific premise: Inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD) affects an estimated 1-1.3 million people in the US alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although immune intolerance in the gut is considered one of the factors driving disease progression, the origins of IBD remain unknown. Enteric infections play a major role and could potentially be an underlying cause of IBD (PMID:15256979). Staphylococcus aureus, an ESKAPE pathogen, one of the major causes of foodborne enteric infections. Nevertheless, there is a considerable knowledge gap as to how S. aureus can cause dysregulation and inflammation at enteric mucosal surfaces that could lead to IBD. Previous studies along these lines led to the
One of the most frequently worldwide foodborne diseases outbreak was caused by the enterotoxin produced by the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). When certain strains of S. aureus is growing, the enterotoxin is produced as a byproduct. In favorable condition, enterotoxin is not produced by the S. aureus. Generally, the toxin will be produced once the total cell numbers reach 100,000 per gram of meat. Enterotoxin is high heat resistant which not able to remove by the normal temperature and time used to process or cook foods. It also could withstand high salt levels, nitrite and grow in the condition with or without air. S. aureus is often present in the mucous membranes which are the nose and throat, the surface of the skin and hair. It can also present in infections lead to the occurrence of food contamination. For an example, S. aureus could be transmitted through the air and contaminate the meat from the carcass during the processing. Foods that often contaminate with S. aureus included ham, corned beef, salami, bacon, barbecued meat, salads, the baking product containing cream and cheese.
The volume of materials that may be weaponized from this category is immense and each requires varying degrees of knowledge, skills, and abilities to create and employ. After reading this week’s course material and a small amount of cursory research on my own, I chose to use the bacterium, Yersinia pestis which can be employed as a biological agent and causes either pneumonic, bubonic, or septicemic plague depending on the method of exposure (Inglesby, T. V., Dennis, D. T., Henderson, D. A., Bartlett, J. G., Ascher, M. S., Eitzen, E., …Tonat, K., 2000, p2282.)
Toxin B and Toxin A belong to the same family of large clostridial glycosylating toxins that are responsibility for inflammatory responses. TcdB is primarily known as the cytotoxin and is the most common encoded toxin.The difference in TcdB and TcdA could stem for the differences in where each toxin receptor tropism (3). In four different studies using hamster and mouse intestines, TcdB is capable of producing phenotypes of disease in complete absence of TcdA (1). TcdB has two protein receptors that are able to bind outside of the CROPS domain. These proteins include poliovirus receptor like protein 3 and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 that are found on colon epithelial cells of humans. Both receptors could be responsible for the initial
particular toxin solvent has been in existence since the dawn of time during the year of 1980, in which