Incubation Periods and Symptoms

      

Common   Pathogens

Incubation PeriodS

Common                          Symptoms

◙   Bacillus Cereus

 

1-6 hrs (vomiting)               6-24 hrs (diarrhea)

Nausea and diarrhea. Typically resolves within 24 to 48 hours

◙   Campylobacter

 

     

2 to 7 days               (usually 3 to 5 days)

Diarrhea (often bloody), abdominal cramps, nausea and headaches. Typically resolves within 1 to 10 days

◙   C. Botulinum

 

 

12 to 72 hrs                 (usually 18 to 36 hrs)

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, dry mouth, double vision, muscle paralysis, respiratory failure. Duration is variable (days to months).

◙   C. Perfringins

 

 

8 to 22 hrs            (average is 12 hrs)

Diarrhea, abdominal cramps and vomiting; usually no fever. Typically resolves within 1 to 2 days.

◙   E. coli O157:H7

 

 

24+ hrs to 10 days (usually 3 to 4 days)

Diarrhea (often bloody), abdominal cramps and vomiting; usually no fever. HUS may develop in rare cases. Typically resolves within 1 to 8 days (in non-complicated cases)

◙   Hepatitis A

 

15 to 50 days        (average is 28 days)

Diarrhea, dark urine, jaundice and flu-like symptoms, including headaches, fever, nausea and abdominal pain. Duration is variable (ranging a few weeks to 3 months).

◙   Listeria

 

9-48 hrs                         (for GI symptoms)

2 to 6 weeks                 (for invasive disease)

 

Fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea; pregnant women may suffer flu-like symptoms and stillbirth; elderly, immune-compromised and infants can develop sepsis and meningitis. Duration is variable.

◙   Norovirus

 

 

12 to 72 hrs            (usually 24 to 48 hrs)

Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, headaches and fever. Typically resolves within 1 to 3 days.

◙   Salmonella

 

6 to 72 hrs              (usually 12-36 hrs)

Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. Typically resolves within 4 to 7 days.

◙   Shigella

 

 

24 to 72 hrs             (usually 36 to 48 hrs)

Watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, chills and fever. Stool may contain blood and mucus. Typically resolves within 4 to 7days.

◙  Staphylococcus

 

30 minutes to 8 hrs (usually 2 to 4 hrs)

Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Typically resolves in 24 to 48 hrs.
 

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Shigella Fact Sheet

Shigella are Gram-positive, nonmotile, nonsporeforming rod-shaped bacteria. Shigella bateria were discovered over 100 years ago by a Japanese scientist named Shiga, for whom they are named. Currently, Shigella (shigellosis) accounts for approximately 10% of reported food-borne illness in the United States. There are several different kinds of Shigella that cause illness: Shigella sonnei, known as "Group D" Shigella, accounts for over two-thirds of shigellosis in the United States. In turn, Shigella flexneri, or "group B" Shigella, accounts for the majority of the rest.  Other types of Shigella are rare in this country, though they continue to be important causes of disease in the developing world. One type found in the developing world, Shigella dysenteriae type 1, can cause deadly epidemics.

In addition to person to person transmission (through the fecal-oral route), Shigella may also be acquired from eating contaminated food, or by drinking or swimming in contaminated water. Incriminting foods have included salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products, and poultry. 

Shigella are highly infectious, and a relatively small number of organisms can cause illness.  In turn, illness is caused when Shigella organisms are consumed and then attach to and penetrate the epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa.  After invasion, the bacteria multiply and spread to contiguous cells resulting in tissue destruction. Some strains produce enterotoxin and Shiga toxin (similar to the verotoxin of E. Coli O157:H7).  Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, fever, vomiting and/or blood or mucus in stools. Symptoms typically occur between 36 and 48 hours after the consumption of contaminated food, and will typically resolve within 4 to 7 days.  

As with other common food-borne pathogens, the spread of Shigella can be prevented by frequent and careful handwashing with soap.  

References:

 www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/shigellosis_gi.html

www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap19.html

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Shigella Images

 

 

 

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