The Identity of a Streptococcus Associated with Food Poisoning from Cheese

In 1926, Linden, Turner and Thorn (2) reported upon two outbreaks of illness among people which had been diagnosed as food poisoning--pains in stomach, severe vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Cheese appeared to be the one article of food which had been consumed by all of the affected persons in these two outbreaks. A sample of cheese from the same lot as that implicated in the first case and some of the actual cheese consumed in the second were studied. The same type of streptococcus was found in large numbers in both of these cheeses. When milk soured with this streptococcus was fed to cats a diarrhea developed, usually within 24 hours, and the stools did not return to normal for 5 or 6 days.