Question

chapter 2 quiz
6 of 10
which pathogens are found in high numbers in an infected person’s feces, are highly infectious, and can cause severe illness?
○ bacillus cereus, listeria monocytogenes, staphylococcus aureus, clostridium perfringens, campylobacter jejuni, and vibrio parahaemolyticus.
○ anisakis simplex, cryptosporidium parvum, giardia duodenalis, vibrio vulnificus, and clostridium botulinum
○ hepatitis a, norovirus, salmonella typhi, nontyphoidal salmonella, shigella spp., and shiga toxin-producing e. coli
○ histamine, aflatoxin, brevetoxin, ciguatoxin, saxitoxin, and domoic acid

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. The first option lists bacteria that cause foodborne illness but not all are fecal - oral or highly infectious in the described way. For example, Bacillus cereus is often associated with food poisoning from contaminated food, not primarily fecal - oral transmission.
2. The second option includes parasites and bacteria, but some like Clostridium botulinum is more associated with toxin production in food rather than high fecal load and severe illness from fecal - oral.
3. The third option: Hepatitis A (virus), Norovirus (virus), Salmonella Typhi (bacteria), nontyphoidal Salmonella (bacteria), Shigella spp. (bacteria), and Shiga toxin - producing E. coli (bacteria) are all pathogens that are shed in high numbers in feces, are highly infectious (spread via fecal - oral route), and can cause severe illness.
4. The fourth option lists toxins (e.g., histamine, aflatoxin) not pathogens.

Answer:

Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Salmonella Typhi, nontyphoidal Salmonella, Shigella spp., and Shiga toxin - producing E. coli