Enterotoxin H in Staphylococcal Food Poisoning

Abstract

Seven members of one family became ill with vomiting and diarrhea 4 h after eating a type of cheese produced in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Staphylococcus aureus (2.9 × 108 CFU/g) that produced enterotoxin H (SEH) was isolated from the cheese. A low level of this enterotoxin was detected in the cheese extract before and after concentration 20-fold by copper chelate chromatography. The amount of SEH produced by the staphylococcal strain was 180 ng/ml of culture supernatant with production by the sac culture method. If only the ELISA ball kit had been used, it would have been concluded that enterotoxin D was the cause of the food poisoning.