Outbreak of Food-Borne Gastroenteritis Due to a Coagulase-Negative Enterotoxin-Producing Staphylococcus

STAPHYLOCOCCAL food poisoning is an intoxication due to ingestion of heat-stable enterotoxin produced in food by staphylococci. It is thought that only coagulase-positive staphylococci produce enterotoxin and that coagulase-negative staphylococci cannot cause gastroenteritis.1 2 3 4 This paper describes an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in which clinical and epidemiologic data incriminate enterotoxin-producing, coagulase-negative staphylococci.MethodsExposed persons were interviewed within one week by telephone. Stool cultures were not obtained. Cultures of food and of the hands of food handlers were plated on Chapman-Stone medium, blood agar, MacConkey's and salmonella-shigella mediums. Staphylococcus epidermidis was identified by gross morphology, gram stain and biologic reactions and . . .