General information - Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning

Incubation period

1 to 7 hours (usually 2 to 4 hours).

Common clinical features

Vomiting, abdominal pain.

Reservoir

Infected exposed skin lesions, nostrils, or fingers of food handlers. Rarely infected animals.

Transmission

Handling cooked foods such as ham, meat, poultry, fish, prawns and cream cakes which are then stored at room temperature for more than two hours and eaten cold. Some outbreaks are associated with canned foods contaminated after processing.