The microbial🦠 world has millions of baffling yet interesting revelations. Who would imagine that a sumptuous fried rice meal could possess some harmful microorganisms (bacteria)?🤷♀️ Well, that's the world we live in.
I Present To You Bacillus cereus
Bacillus cereus is a bacterium that thrives in the presence of oxygen (aerobic). Naturally, it derives joy in infecting grains especially rice. It is classified bacteriologically as a gram-positive bacterium.
It is among the group of bacteria that form spores. A spore is a form in which some bacteria or other organisms change when the environment becomes unfavourable for the main form. Spore can be resistant to heat, chemicals, etc. For this reason, they can last longer than their vegetative counterparts. However, when conditions return to normal, the spores revert to their vegetative forms.
When the spore infects rice, it can stay there and survive heat when the food is not cooked properly. The spore germinates and produces a toxin that causes a problem in the body when the improperly cooked food is kept down to be cooled very slowly.
Stage Of Infection
Within a few hours of eating, the consumer starts noticing some symptoms.
Two types of toxins are produced in most cases: One tries to induce vomiting while another causes diarrhoea, abdominal pain, etc.
Symptoms
Depending on the kind of toxin released by the bacterium, an infected person may suffer nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramp, lack of appetite, etc.
Treatment
The symptoms presented are mainly the best way to treat this infection. This means that you get rid of it through the treatment of the individual symptoms.
Prevention
The disease is called Fried Rice Syndrome because it infects rice through the processes of its preparations.
The organism can also infect meat, milk and other food products too.
Foods should be properly cooked and if possible should be refrigerated when not in use.
There is no vaccine available yet to prevent this disease on carefulness can.
Bacillus cereus is jokingly remembered using 'Be Serious' 😃😃
Massive shoutout to a colleague of mine for this @Learn_from_JOELSCO. 🙌🙌
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