Table 1.
Examples of food poisoning outbreaks caused by B. cereus worldwide from 1906 until 2019. The summary of reported cases from 1950 (diarrheal) and 1971 (emetic) to 1985 was taken from Kramer and Gilbert [6]. Crucial former events as well as more recent outbreaks are also summarized. When no year of incidence was indicated, the publication year is shown in ().
| Diarrheal | |||||
| Year | Location | Consequences | Organism | Reference | |
| 1950–1985 | Hungary (101–200 reported incidents); Finland (51–100 reported incidents); Bulgaria, Canada, Norway, UK, USA, Sowjet Union (6–50 reported incidents); Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Yugoslavia (1–5 reported incidents) | Mainly diarrhea | B. cereus | [6] | |
| Year | Location | Food | Affected people/consequences | Organism | Reference |
| (1906) | Germany | Meatballs | 300 people, diarrhea, stomach cramps | “B. peptonificans” | [53] |
| (1955) | Norway | Vanilla sauce | 4 outbreaks, > 400 illnesses, diarrhea, abdominal pain | B. cereus | [54] |
| (1976) | Great Britain | Meat loaf | Diarrhea, strain 4433/73 | B. cereus | [55] |
| (1976) | USA | Vegetable sprouts | Nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea | B. cereus | [67] |
| (1979) | USA | Turkey loaf | 28 hospital patients, abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea | B. cereus | [68] |
| (1986) | USA | Rice and chicken in hospital cafeteria | 160 hospital employees, mainly diarrhea and abdominal cramps, some vomiting | B. cereus | [69] |
| 1985 | USA | Beef stew | 23 illnesses, cramps, diarrhea | B. cereus | [70] |
| 1989 | USA | Cornish game hens | 55 illnesses, mainly diarrhea and cramps | B. cereus | [71] |
| (1993) | USA | Barbecued pork | 139 illnesses, diarrhea, fever | B. cereus | [72] |
| 1995 | Norway | Stew | 152 people, diarrhea | B. cereus | [49,73] |
| 1998 | France | Vegetable puree | 44 illnesses, (bloody) diarrhea, three deaths | B. cytotoxicus | [33] |
| 1999 | Canada | Mayonnaise | Diarrhea | B. cereus | [74] |
| 2000 | Italy | Cake | 173 people, nausea, watery diarrhea | B. cereus | [75] |
| 1954–2004 | USA, England | 28 isolates from food, stool or vomit | Isolates linked to 11x diarrhea, 11x emesis, 6x no information | B. cereus | [76] |
| 1991–2005 | Canada | Mainly Asian food, followed by raw food | 39 outbreaks, 18 enteropathogenic, mainly abdominal cramps and diarrhea | B. cereus B. thuringiensis | [77] |
| 2006–2008 | India | Not specified | 42 diarrheal cases in 2 years | B. cereus | [78] |
| 2008 | Oman | Hospital meal | 58 people, mainly diarrhea, some vomiting | B. cereus | [79] |
| 2010 | Korea | Lunch buffet | Mainly diarrhea and abdominal pain | B. cereus | [80] |
| 2013 | Australia | Curried prawns, Caesar salad | 125 people, diarrhea, abdominal pain | B. cereus inter alia | [81] |
| (2014) | China | Fermented black beans | 139 people, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; 1 diarrheal isolate | B. cereus | [82] |
| 2007–2014 | France | Mostly starchy food and vegetables | 74 outbreaks, often mix of emetic and diarrheal syndrome, abdominal pain | B. cereus, B. cytotoxicus (100% nhe, 40% hbl, 5% cytK1) | [27] |
| 2001–2013 | Australia | Fish balls, mashed potato and gravy, rice | 4 outbreaks, 114 cases total, mainly diarrhea | B. cereus | [83] |
| 2013 | Austria | 1. mashed potatoes 2. pancake soup 3. fruit salad, deer ragout, cranberry-pear |
3 outbreaks, mainly diarrhea, some vomiting | B. cereus | [84] |
| 2003–2013 | Southern Brazil | Mainly cereals, sauce | 346 patients, mainly diarrhea and cramps, some vomiting | B. cereus | [85] |
| 2016 | USA | Refried beans | 179 illnesses, 1 diarrheal isolate; mostly vomiting, some diarrhea | B. cereus | [86] |
| 2018 | Australia | Multi-course-dinner (beef) | Diarrhea and vomiting, mostly enteropathogenic B. cereus found | B. cereus | [87] |
| Emetic | |||||
| Year | Location | Consequences | Organism | Reference | |
| 1971–1985 | UK (101–200 reported incidents); Netherlands (51–100 reported incidents); Australia, Canada, Ireland, India, Japan, USA (6–50 reported incidents); Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Singapore, Spain (1–5 reported incidents) | Mainly emesis, nausea | B. cereus | [6] | |
| Year | Location | Food | Affected people/consequences | Organism | Reference |
| 1971 | Great Britain | Fried rice | 13 illnesses, vomiting, nausea | B. cereus | [55,56] |
| 1975 | Finland | Boiled rice | 18 illnesses, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting | B. cereus | [88] |
| (1976) | Japan | Chinese noodles | Heart and liver degeneration, death | B. cereus | [89] |
| (1981) | USA | Macaroni and cheese | 8 illnesses, nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting | B. cereus | [90] |
| 1981 | Singapore | Fried rice | Mainly vomiting abdominal cramps, headache, diarrhea | B. cereus | [91] |
| 1993 | USA | Chicken fried rice | 14 acute gastrointestinal illnesses | B. cereus | [92] |
| 1991–1994 | Japan | Faecal specimens, foods, not specified | 5 outbreaks, emesis | B. cereus | [93] |
| (1997) | Switzerland | Spaghetti and pesto | Vomiting, liver failure, death | B. cereus | [34] |
| 1998 | USA | Contaminated hands/rice | Emesis | B. cereus | [94] |
| (2003) | Greece | No information | Vomiting, abdominal pain, liver abscess, death | B. cereus, presumably emetic | [95] |
| 2003 | Belgium | Pasta salad | Vomiting, liver failure, death | B. cereus | [31] |
| (2005) | Finland | Pasta and meat dish | Emesis with diarrhea | B. cereus | [96] |
| 2006 | Germany | 1. Rice dish 2. cooked cauliflower |
17 children, vomiting, collapse 1 adult, vomiting |
B. cereus | [97] |
| 1991–2005 | Canada | Mainly Asian food, followed by raw food | 39 outbreaks, 5 emetic, mainly abdominal cramps and vomiting | B. cereus | [77] |
| (2008) | Switzerland | Pasta | Abdominal pain, emesis, hepatitis, renal and pancreatic insufficiency, liver failure | B. cereus | [36] |
| (2010) | Japan | Fried rice | Gastroenteritis, acute encephalopathy, liver failure | B. cereus | [98] |
| (2010) | Korea | Cooked and fried rice | Emesis | B. cereus | [99] |
| (2010) | Japan | Reheated fried rice | Vomiting, acute encephalopathy, one dead | B. cereus | [38] |
| 1954–2004 | USA, England | 28 isolates from food, stool or vomit | Isolates linked to 11x diarrhea, 11x emesis, 6x no information | B. cereus | [76] |
| 2007 | Spain | Tuna fish | Emesis | B. cereus | [100] |
| 2007 | Germany | Rice pudding | 43 children, three adults, emesis | B. cereus | [101] |
| 2008 | Belgium | Spaghetti | Vomiting, watery diarrhea, death | B. cereus | [35] |
| 2004–2006 | Korea | Not specified | Sporadic food poisoning cases | B. cereus | [102] |
| (2012) | Belgium | Rice | Family outbreak | B. cereus | [103] |
| 2008 | France | Pasta | Emesis, abdominal pain, liver failure | B. cereus | [104] |
| 2012 | Italy | Basmati rice | 12 illnesses, mostly vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain; diarrhea | B. cereus | [105] |
| 2007–2013 | Germany | Different foods | Emetic B. cereus in 32 samples, vomiting | B. cereus | [106] |
| (2014) | China | Fermented black beans | 139 people, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; 2 emetic isolates | B. cereus | [82] |
| (2015) | Argentina | Chicken | Vomiting and watery diarrhea, “intermediate isolate” | B. cereus | [107] |
| (2015) | Germany | Rice meal | Vomiting, abdominal pain, liver failure | B. cereus | [37] |
| 2007–2014 | France | Mostly starchy food and vegetables | 74 outbreaks, often mix of emetic and diarrheal syndrome, abdominal pain | B. cereus (16% ces) | [27] |
| 2001–2013 | Australia | Fried rice and honey chicken | 1 outbreak, vomiting | B. cereus | [83] |
| 2012 | Great Britain | Pearl haricot beans | Several nurseries, vomiting | B. cereus | [108] |
| 2016 | USA | Refried beans | 179 illnesses, 6 emetic isolates, mostly vomiting, some diarrhea | B. cereus | [86] |
| (2019) | Germany | Buck wheat | Massive vomiting, diarrhea, esophageal perforation, Boerhaave syndrome | B. cereus | [109] |