Question:
A patient develops nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps within 3 hours of attending a social gathering. Which organism is the most likely cause of this food poisoning?
A patient develops nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps within 3 hours of attending a social gathering. Which organism is the most likely cause of this food poisoning?
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Vomiting within a few hours points to a preformed toxin, not one that needs the bug to grow inside you.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Salmonella
- Clostridium botulinum
- Clostridium perfringens
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Answer: Staphylococcus aureus.
Step 1: The key word is the very short 3-hour incubation. Staphylococcal food poisoning is caused by a PREFORMED heat-stable enterotoxin already present in the food, so symptoms hit fast, usually within 30 minutes to 6 hours.
Step 2: The picture fits: abrupt nausea, vomiting and cramps after a party meal (often custards, dairy, mayonnaise handled by a colonised food handler). Illness is self-limiting and gone within a day.
Step 3: The others incubate longer. Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens take 8 to 72 hours because they need bacterial multiplication or in-vivo toxin action, and Clostridium botulinum (12 to 36 hours) causes descending paralysis, not early vomiting.
Ref: CDC and Jawetz Medical Microbiology.
Step 1: The key word is the very short 3-hour incubation. Staphylococcal food poisoning is caused by a PREFORMED heat-stable enterotoxin already present in the food, so symptoms hit fast, usually within 30 minutes to 6 hours.
Step 2: The picture fits: abrupt nausea, vomiting and cramps after a party meal (often custards, dairy, mayonnaise handled by a colonised food handler). Illness is self-limiting and gone within a day.
Step 3: The others incubate longer. Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens take 8 to 72 hours because they need bacterial multiplication or in-vivo toxin action, and Clostridium botulinum (12 to 36 hours) causes descending paralysis, not early vomiting.
Ref: CDC and Jawetz Medical Microbiology.
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