The Kitten Test for Staphylococcus Enterotoxin.

Abstract

STAPHYLOCOCCAL food poisoning has gained recognition in recent ^ years, particularly among public health laboratory workers in North America, as a condition of widespread and relatively frequent occurrence. The symptomatology and epidemiology are very characteristic, and should by now be familiar enough to require only a brief outline. When an outbreak involving many persons occurs, the typical story is of the abrupt onset of nausea and vomiting, intestinal cramps and diarrhoea, commencing within from lyi to 5 hours, among a high proportion of those present at a picnic or at some indoor social gathering. As a rule the attack soon passes, without sequelae, and by the time the outbreak is under investigation, all the victims may have completely recovered. Small outbreaks involving, for instance, a few members of a family, and occasionally single cases, may also be the subject of investigation; but the symptomatology of staphylococcal food poisoning is such that reports of sporadic instances rarely reach the health authorities.