Prevalence of Bacillus Cereus and Associated Risk Factors in Chinese-Style Fried Rice Available in The City of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Prevalence of Bacillus Cereus and Associated Risk Factors in Chinese-Style Fried Rice Available in The City of Colombo, Sri Lanka
Prevalence of Bacillus Cereus and Associated Risk Factors in Chinese-Style Fried Rice Available in The City of Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of Bacillus cereus and its associated risk factors in Chinese-style
fried rice available in Colombo city. In 200 samples of fried rice the prevalence of B. cereus was 56%. The
prevalence by variety of fried rice was chicken (20.0%), vegetable (18.0%), seafood (10.0%), egg (5.0%), mixed
(2.0%), and beef (1.0%). Of analyzed samples, 28 (14%) had colony counts > 106 colony forming units per gram
(cfu/g), the infectious dose for B. cereus food borne outbreaks. Occurrence of > 106 cfu/g of B. cereus were
associated with storage of boiled rice at room temperature ( p = 0.030), > 4 hours of storage at room temperature
( p = 0.042) and cooking frequency of more than once per dining session ( p = 0.017). The type of rice and the
quantity boiled per day were not independent risk factors for high B. cereus counts. Majority of B. cereus isolates
(53.7%) in this study were not typable. The serotypes observed included H15 (14.3%), H19 (14.3%), and H20
(10.7%). These serotypes are known to be associated with both emetic and diarrheal syndromes. All isolates were
sensitive to ciprofloxacin (100%), erythromycin (100%), gentamicin (100%), chloramphenicol (100%), and ami-
kacin (100%) whereas 100% resistance was observed for penicillin with minimal inhibitory concentration range
of 32–256 lg/mL.
1
Molecular Biology Section, Medical Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2
Microbiology Division, Department of Pathology, Provincial General Hospital, Badulla, Sri Lanka.
125
126 PERERA AND RANASINGHE
Finland (Raevuori et al., 1976), India (Granum and Baird- (Oxoid Ltd) using a Stomacher 400 Circulator (Seward Ltd).
Parker, 2000), and New Zealand (Lake et al., 2004). Con- With this initial 1:10 (10 - 1) dilution, serial dilutions from 10 - 2
sequently, B. cereus has gained prominence as a priority to 10 - 7 were prepared in 0.1% peptone water (Bridson, 2006).
pathogen for enteric diseases task force work plan 2009–2010
drawn up by the WHO (WHO, 2009). Presumptive B. cereus count
From 2005 to 2010, 7620 food poisoning cases have been
The medium used for isolation of B. cereus was prepared
reported in Sri Lanka out of which 600 have occurred in Co-
with B. cereus Selective Agar Base (CM617), B. cereus Selective
lombo district (Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition Sri
Supplement/Polymyxin B (SR99), and Egg Yolk Emulsion
Lanka, 2005). Clinical symptoms of many of these cases were
(SR47) (Oxoid Ltd). Each batch of prepared medium was
similar to B. cereus emetic type food poisoning. However,
quality controlled using B. cereus ATCC 10876 as the positive
most were not investigated due to the mild and self limiting
control and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 as the negative control.
nature of the illness. Also, the majority of cases were sporadic
Duplicate plates of B. cereus selective agar were inoculated
and not associated with outbreaks. In the recent past, B. cereus
with 0.1 mL of 10 - 1 to 10 - 7 dilutions. Each inoculum was
counts ranging from 1.0 · 103 to 8.4 · 108 have been reported
evenly spread on the surface of the medium with a sterile
in cooked rice and fried rice (Unpublished data from Food
glass spreading rod. Plates were incubated at 35C for 24
and Water Laboratory, Medical Research Institute, Sri Lanka).
hours and cursorily examined for Bacillus colonies. Thereafter,
Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination and local cuisine
the plates were left at room temperature for 24 hours to allow
which includes fried rice is very much in demand. Therefore,
colonies to develop typical morphology of B. cereus (Bridson,
ensuring food safety is a prime concern.
2006). The characteristic colonies were crenated, *5 mm in
The predominance of B. cereus outbreaks linked to Chinese-
diameter, peacock blue, and surrounded by a conspicuous
style fried rice is associated with the common practice of
egg yolk precipitate of the same color. All plates from the
boiling large quantities of rice and storing at room tempera-
dilution series was examined with the naked eye and one set
ture before frying. This is done to avoid refrigeration which
containing an estimated 15–150 typical colonies was selected
makes the grains to become sticky and clump together. Raw
for manual counting (Sri Lanka Standard: 516: Part 8, 1983;
rice frequently contains heat resistant spores that survive
USFDA, 2001). This number expressed as cfu/g fried rice was
boiling. When boiled rice is stored at room temperature for
the presumptive colony count.
prolonged periods, these spores germinate, proliferate, and
produce heat stable emetic toxin (Little et al., 2002). Vegetative
Confirmed B. cereus count
cell growth is stimulated by the nutrient content of eggs and
meat added to the rice (Morita and Woodburn, 1977). The From each positive sample, five peacock blue, lecithinase-
organism is thus able to achieve the infectious dose of counts positive colonies were picked and transferred to nutrient agar
exceeding 106 colony forming units per gram (cfu/g) of food slants. These were incubated for 24 hours at 30C and used for
(USFDA, 2001). performing morphological and biochemical confirmatory
This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of B. cereus tests. With Gram staining (212539, BD Difco BBL Stains),
in Chinese-style fried rice available in Colombo city, evaluating B. cereus appears as large Gram-positive bacilli in chains with
selected risk factors for significant counts ( > 106 cfu/g), ser- ellipsoidal, central, or paracentral spores which do not swell
otyping, and antibiotic sensitivity testing of isolates. the sporangium. The rapid confirmatory staining procedure
(Holbrook and Anderson, 1980) using malachite green (90903;
Materials and Methods Fluka), Sudan Black (199664; Sigma-Aldrich), and aqueous
0.5% w/v safranin (212532; BD Difco BBL Stains) showed the
Sampling method characteristic morphology of pale green spores and black lipid
During a period of 1 year, 200 samples of Chinese-style globules in red stained cytoplasm.
fried rice were collected by systematic random cluster sampling The principle biochemical tests used for identification of B.
of eateries within Colombo city. The samples were categorized cereus group were positive catalase (H3410; Sigma-Aldrich),
according to the main ingredient added to fried rice during positive Voges-Proskauer test (39484; Fluka), reduction of
preparation. These were vegetables, chicken, seafood, eggs, nitrate (72548; Fluka), hydrolysis of tyrosine (T3754; Sigma-
beef or a mixture of all. The distribution of 200 samples included Aldrich), growth in 0.001% w/v lysozyme broth (62970;
70 (35%) vegetable fried rice, 59 (29.5%) chicken fried rice, 36 Fluka), liquefaction of gelatin (48723; Fluka), and production
(18%) seafood fried rice, 18 (9%) egg fried rice, 10 (5%) beef fried of acid from glucose (49159; Fluka), xylose (X1500; Sigma-
rice, and 7 (3.5%) mixed fried rice. Samples were transported Aldrich), and arabinose (10850; Fluka). These biochemical
without freezing and analysis commenced within 3 hours. tests were chosen from standard references for isolation and
A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was enumeration of B. cereus from food (Kramer et al., 1982; Sri
designed to elicit information on practices related to prepa- Lanka Standard: 516: Part 8, 1983; USFDA, 2001). All bio-
ration and storage of fried rice. The questionnaire was pre- chemical media were quality controlled for performance with
tested on an appropriate sample population. Data processing recommended positive and negative controls. For each batch
and analysis was conducted using SPSS 13 statistical software of testing B. cereus ATCC 10876 and B. subtilis ATCC 6633
package. were used as additional controls.
However, these reactions are identical for all members of
the B. cereus group namely, B. cereus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus
Preparation of sample dilutions
thuringiensis, and Bacillus anthracis. Therefore, additional
Ten grams from each fried rice sample was randomly taken tests were performed by inoculating the isolates on Sheep
and homogenized in 90 mL of 0.1% Peptone Water (CM0009) Blood Agar (CM0854; Oxoid Ltd), Nutrient Agar (CM0003;
PREVALENCE OF BACILLUS CEREUS IN FRIED RICE 127
Oxoid Ltd) and staining 3–4 day old cultures with warm 0.5% by comparative disk diffusion method. The antibiotics tested
basic fuchsin (212545; BD Difco BBL Stains) for toxin crystals. were ciprofloxacin (5 lg), erythromycin (15 lg), gentamicin
B. cereus isolates were identified as those showing active (10 lg), penicillin (10 lg), chloramphenicol (30 lg), and ami-
motility, strong hemolysis, no rhizoid growth, and no protein kacin (30 lg) (Oxoid Ltd). The resistance profile to penicillin
toxin crystals (USFDA, 2001). The number of B. cereus was was further investigated with Penicillin Etest (Biomerieux)
calculated by using the proportion of selected colonies con- minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) method which was
firmed as B. cereus and the dilution factor (Presumptive col- performed and interpreted per manufacturer’s instructions
ony count · proportion confirmed as B. cereus · dilution and CLSI, M45-A, Guideline (CLSI, 2006).
factor · 10). The confirmed colony counts were expressed as
cfu/g of fried rice. Results
Of the 200 fried rice samples analyzed, B. cereus was de-
Assessment of risk factors tected in 112 (56.0%) whereas 44% (88) of the samples were
Occurrence of > 106 cfu/g of B. cereus were assessed with negative for B. cereus. Among these positive samples, 28 (14%)
regard to five presumed risk factors. These included the type had colony counts > 106 which corresponds to the infectious
of rice (Basmathi, Samba, others), amount of rice boiled per dose. Simultaneously 84 (42%) samples contained B. cereus
day ( > 10, £ 10 kg), method of storage of boiled rice (steaming colony counts £ 106. For counts exceeding 106 the highest
hot, room temperature, refrigerated), duration of storage of prevalence was detected in chicken fried rice (23.7%). None of
boiled rice before frying ( £ 4, > 4 hours), and frequency of the beef fried rice contained B. cereus in excess of 106. With
preparation of boiled rice per dining session (1, > 1). Bivariate regard to counts less than 106, the highest prevalence of 44.4%
associations were assessed and those which were statistically was individually observed in both seafood and egg fried rice
significant ( p-value < 0.05) were included for binary logistic whereas beef fried rice recorded the lowest prevalence of 20%
regression analysis. (Table 1).
In the assessment of risk factors for the occurrence of B.
Serotyping of B. cereus cereus in counts > 106 cfu/g three parameters emerged as in-
dependent risk factors (Table 2). These were storage at room
Serotyping of B. cereus isolates detected at > 106 cfu/g was temperature before frying ( p = 0.030), > 4 hours of storage
carried out at the Food Safety Microbiology Laboratory of prior to frying ( p = 0.042), and frequency of cooking more than
PHLS Central Public Health Laboratory, United Kingdom. once ( p = 0.017).
Actively motile strains obtained by several passages through The majority of B. cereus isolates present in counts exceed-
semisolid nutrient agar were cultured in nutrient broth for 5 ing 106 were not typable. Amongst the typable isolates, the
hours at 35C with constant agitation. After confirming the most prominent serotypes were H15 (14.3%) and H19 (14.3%).
presence of active motility by phase contrast microscopy, Serotype H20 was observed at 10.7% (Table 3). Antibiotic
formalin 1% (v/v) was added to obtain antigen suspensions. sensitivity demonstrated an identical pattern. All isolates
Flagellar ‘‘H’’ antisera prepared by intravenous inoculation of were sensitive to ciprofloxacin (100%), erythromycin (100%),
rabbits was used for typing the isolates. Doubling dilutions of gentamicin (100%), chloramphenicol (100%), and amikacin
0.25 mL portions of antirsera were made in agglutination (100%). Conversely, 100% resistance was observed for peni-
trays and equal volumes of antigen suspension added. Final cillin. This was confirmed by E-test which showed MIC to be
dilutions were 1:40 to 1:640. These were incubated at 50C for within the range of 32–256 lg/mL for all isolates.
2 hours. Macroscopic agglutination was observed with dark
field illumination (Taylor and Gilbert, 1975). Discussion
In many food poisoning outbreaks due to B. cereus, cooked
Antibiotic sensitivity testing of B. cereus isolates
rice has been implicated as the source. Table 4 indicates some
For B. cereus isolates occurring at counts > 106 cfu/g, sus- of the notable outbreaks reported since 1971. Almost all out-
ceptibility to a standard panel of antibiotics was determined breaks were associated with symptoms of emetic syndrome.
Table 1. Prevalence of Bacillus cereus Classified as Counts of £ 106 cfu/g, > 106 cfu/g,
and Nondetectable by Variety of Chinese-Style Fried Rice
Not detected £ 106 cfu/g > 106 cfu/g Total number analyzed from each variety
Table 2. Risk Factors for Bacillus cereus Counts > 106 cfu/g in Fried Rice
with Adjusted Odds Ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals
Step1
Frequency of cooking per dining session 0.067 2.80 0.93–8.41
Only once 07
More than once 21
Temperature of storage before frying 0.034 5.41 1.14–25.71
Room temperature 26
Storage in fridge/hot steaming 2
Time of storage before frying 0.064 4.39 0.91–21.05
£ 4 hours 2
> 4 hours 26
Step 2
Frequency of cooking per dining session 0.017 3.16 1.23–8.14
Only once 07
More than once 21
Temperature of storage before frying 0.030 5.54 1.18–25.97
Room temperature 26
Storage in fridge/hot steaming 2
Time of storage before frying 0.042 4.55 1.2–21.43
£ 4 hours 16
> 4 hours 12
This may be attributed to the stimulatory effect of starch on Studies reveal that the degree of B. cereus contamination of
growth of B. cereus and production of emetic toxin (Kramer boiled rice was directly related to the temperature of storage
and Gilbert, 1989). and length of time the rice was kept before serving (Gilbert
This study revealed 56% of fried rice samples to be con- et al., 1974; Little et al., 2002). It is recommended that boiled
taminated with B. cereus. This compares favorably with rice not be stored at ambient temperature for more than four
prevalence for fried rice reported by other investigators, hours as this would permit resistant spores to germinate and
Notermans and Batt (1998) 12%–86% in the Netherlands, proliferate. This findings were corroborated by our study
Bryan et al. (1981) 85.7% in the United States, and Schiemann which showed statistically significant association between
(1978) 33% in the United Kingdom. Similar high prevalence of B. cereus in counts > 106 cfu/g and storage of boiled rice at
B. cereus has been observed for boiled rice; 100% in India room temperature for > 4 hours before preparation. Two
(Kamat et al., 1989), 92.9% (Bryan et al., 1981) and 91.7% outbreaks described by Khodr et al. (1994) and Shiota et al.
(Harmon and Kautter, 1991) in the United States, 10%–93% in (2010), where rice was stored at room temperature for a pro-
the Netherlands (Notermans and Batt, 1998), and 93.9% in the longed period and reheated are classic examples for time
United Kingdom (Nichols et al., 1999). The colony counts and temperature abuse mentioned above.
observed in these studies ranged from < 102 to ‡ 107. The Bulk cooking of rice once per day and cooling at room
colony counts observed in the current study were 103 (13.0%), temperature were shown to be associated with high B. cereus
104 (9.0%), 105 (11.5%), 106 (8.5%), 107 (3.5%), 108 (2.5%), 109 counts (WHO, 2000). This has been attributed to the presence
(4.5%), and 1010 (3.5%). B. cereus becomes a hazard when of favorable growth conditions. However, the findings of
present in numbers exceeding 106 cfu/g. Our study revealed present study contradicted this notion as it showed frequency
14% of samples to have this count which is considerably of cooking more than once to be an independent risk factor for
higher than 0.4% reported by Nichols et al. (1999) and 3.1% by
Little et al. (2002).
The high counts of B. cereus associated with boiled rice
could result from heat activation and germination of spores Table 3. Serotypes of Bacillus cereus Isolates
present in raw rice. Prevalence of B. cereus in raw rice has been Obtained from Fried Rice Samples
reported as 38%–68% by coworkers in India (Vijayalakshmi Containing > 106 cfu/g
et al., 1981), the United States (Ankolekar et al., 2009), Le- Total number % of
bannon (Hassan and Nabbut, 1996), the United Kingdom Serovar ‘‘H’’ of each serovar each serovar
(Blakey and Priest, 1980), and Korea (Park et al., 2009). In
addition, B. cereus vegetative cells may be present in meat Nontypable 15 53.57
and seafood whereas dried foods and spices contain spores 15 04 14.29
(Bryan et al., 1981; Little et al., 2002). There were clearly evi- 19 04 14.29
dent variations in prevalence of B. cereus by the variety of 20 03 10.71
Polyaglutination 01 3.57
fried rice in our study. Therefore, it could be contended that
Autoagglutination 01 3.57
addition of meat, sea food, herbs, and spices may have con- Total 28 100
tributed to the observed variations which merits further
investigation. Serotyping was performed by using B. cereus H-specific antisera.
PREVALENCE OF BACILLUS CEREUS IN FRIED RICE 129
Bacillus cereus
Year Country Food item Symptoms/syndrome count (cfu/g) Reference
significant B. cereus counts. Possible explanations for this re- MIC ranging from 32 to 256 lg/mL was demonstrably higher
sult could be postcooking contamination from inadequately than 95% reported for the US isolates (Luna et al., 2007).
cleaned utensils and addition of left over rice to new batches
(Bryan et al., 1981). But the present study did not include ex- Conclusions
amination of postcooking contamination. The type of rice and
With B. cereus prevalence of 56%, Chinese-style fried rice in
the quantity boiled per day was not a contributing factor for
Colombo city could be a hazard for foodborne outbreaks.
high B. cereus counts. These two parameters have not been
Common practices in preparation such as storage of boiled
previously investigated. Small sample size with predictably
rice at room temperature for prolonged periods and a greater
wide 95% confidence intervals was a limitation.
frequency of cooking emerged as significant risk factors for B.
Majority of our B. cereus isolates were not typable. Untyp-
cereus contamination. Therefore, food-handlers should be in-
able strains of B. cereus have been responsible for both emetic
structed on safe practices which include keeping boiled rice ei-
and diarrheal syndrome (Kramer and Gilbert, 1989). The
ther at > 60C (hot steaming) or cooling rapidly and transferring
present study revealed serotypes H15, H19, and H20. H19 has
to a refrigerator within 4 hours (WHO, 2000). Local serotypes
been associated with both emetic and diarrheal syndrome
could be associated with both emetic and diarrheal syndromes.
(Kramer et al., 1982). H15 and H20 have been reported from
Aminoglycosides, ciprofloxacin, and chloramphenicol are suit-
diarrheal and emetic syndromes respectively. Further, H15
able therapeutic options for indigenous infections.
has been isolated from raw rice, H19 from boiled rice, and H20
from both (Gilbert and Kramer, 1986).
Acknowledgments
The 100% sensitivity for ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gen-
tamicin, chloramphenicol, and amikacin in our study is sim- This project was supported by a grant from the Medical
ilar to that observed by Stec (1990) and Meena et al. (2000), Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka. For professional ad-
differing from that of Luna et al. (2007) where erythromycin vice and assistance we gratefully acknowledge Professor
sensitivity was 84%. The uniform resistance to penicillin with Chandra Kodikara and Dr. Karven Cooray.
130 PERERA AND RANASINGHE
Disclosure Statement Kramer JM and Gilbert RJ. Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus
species. In: Food Borne Bacterial Pathogens. Doyle MP (ed.).
No competing financial interests exist. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1989, pp. 21–70.
Kramer JM, Turnball PCB, Munshi G, and Gilbert RJ. Identifi-
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