Clostridium perfringens bacterium as the major caus

Most outbreaks of food poisoning especially those that occur due to consumption of corned beef have been associated with the Clostridium perfringens bacterium as the major cause. This has been demonstrated in a case study from St. Patrick’s restaurant in the United States wherein one day; on March 18, 1993, cases of fifteen people who got sick after consumption of corned beef from the food shop were reported. Following the publication of this report, more than a hundred people reported abdominal disturbances 48 hours after they had eaten food from the same food shop. All cases showed symptoms of food poisoning such as vomiting, abdominal pains, and nausea. A large percentage of 92% of the cases reported constituted those who had eaten corned beef with the minority having eaten potato salad or roasted beef. However, no one was hospitalized (Kendall, 1997, p. p. 1047).