- Let's say you have a piece of chicken
that's been lying on the counter top,
un-refrigerated for a few days.
That chicken will start to spoil,
and as it spoils, some bacteria will start to grow on it.
This could be many different types of bacteria,
but the one that I want to focus on in this video
is called Staphylococcus aureus.
This bacteria is responsible for causing
a type of food poisoning known as
Staphylococcal enteritis.
If you've ever had food poisoning,
you'll know that the many symptoms include things like
Diarrhea, vomiting and nausea, dehydration and a fever.
Let's say you eat this piece of chicken,
and it enters your gastrointestinal tract.
So, besides your mouth and esophagus,
the first thing it'll enter is your stomach.
The stomach contains a very acidic environment.
This can be pretty useful, because it can be used
to aid in the digestion of proteins,
and it can also be used to kill off nasty pathogens.
This acidic environment is actually pretty extreme.
So a lot of bacteria can't survive in it.
The Staphylococcus aureus bacteria is no different.
So maybe you eat some of that chicken, right?
That bacteria ends up in your stomach.
That bacteria may start to die off,
but it's actually pretty sneaky.
It'll actually start to release these chemicals
called Enterotoxins.
These Enterotoxins can survive the acidic environment.
So, even if the bacteria starts to die off,
the Enterotoxins will still be around.
They can then make their way into the small intestine.
So we have a lot going on here,
so let's actually focus on a small portion
of the small intestine in this little box.
On the left, we have the wall of the small intestine.
This space over here, is really just the Lumen.
The Lumen is just the interior space of the small intestine
where the food and the water will pass through.
Here, across this green layer,
you have those epithelial cells.
These will be responsible for digesting and absorbing
the food and water that goes through.
Now, the enterotoxin actually enters the small intestine.
When it enters the small intestine,
this is when you start to see a lot of the symptoms.
One thing to keep in mind is that
this Enterotoxin is also referred to as a super antigen.
An antigen is something that the immune system may recognize
as characteristic of some kind of foreign particle
or foreign pathogen.
Maybe you have a T-cell over here.
When it encounters that antigen, it will start to
release these chemicals called Cytokines.
Now, antigens don't usually activate every single
T-cell they encounter, because they're pretty specific.
Super antigens, however, are not specific.
They will activate many, many, many more T-cells.
Now, you have this overwhelming release of
all of these cytokines.
These cytokines can then go on to do a bunch
of different things:
One, they can actually prevent a lot of these
epithelial cells from doing their job.
That is, they prevent them from absorbing
all that food and water.
So all of that stuff that you ate and drank
will just pass through as diarrhea.
They can also trigger some of the vomiting
centers of your brain to force you
to vomit that stuff out.
Because of all this water isn't being absorbed into
your system due to the vomiting and diarrhea,
you're going to experience some dehydration as well.
So, this is how a lot of those symptoms can arise
just because you have only the enterotoxin.
Note that the bacteria isn't even in the small intestine.
So, let's say you're experiencing all of these symptoms.
You may go to the doctor to confirm what pathogen,
exactly is causing these symptoms to occur.
So, when you go to the doctor, they're actually
going to collect some stool samples.
That stool sample will then be sent off to a lab
where they'll evaluate its contents.
So remember, you may not actually have the bacteria
in your system, because that bacteria died
in your stomach.
What they may look for, instead, are the enterotoxins.
So maybe they find these enterotoxins in your stool
and there's a pretty good chance that you have
Staphylococcal enteritis.
Then how can we treat it?
Well, like all forms of food poisoning
and gastroenteritis, one of the best things
you can do is to just drink a lot of water and fluids.
This is really to overcome the dehydration
that you may be experiencing.
Another thing you can do, and this is something
you could even consider if you have other forms
of gastroenteritis or food poisoning is to
adopt what's called the "BRAT diet".
This is really just a synonym for
bananas, rice, applesauce and toast.
The reason why it might be a good idea to consider
going on this diet while you have these symptoms
is because all of these foods are very low in fiber.
Why is that important to us?
Well, fiber actually adds a lot of bulk to
the stuff that we're processing
in our gastrointestinal system.
So, the more bulk that you're trying to digest and absorb,
the harder it is for your gastrointestinal system
to really process all of that food.
Therefore, if you eat these foods that are low in fiber,
you won't be adding as much bulk,
and your system will be able to process
them more easily.
Now, hopefully, you won't have to stay on this diet
for too long, because usually,
this type of food poisoning doesn't last very long.
The vomiting typically lasts up to 24 hours,
and the other symptoms typically resolve
in about two to three days.
And of course, the best way to really avoid
getting this type of food poisoning
is to eat clean food.
Make sure you're always storing the food
appropriately, make sure you're refrigerating
your food, or freezing your food whenever necessary.
Then of course, cooking your food really well,
and drinking clean water.