(WSVN) - The 2008 case of a young man in Belgium who died after eating days-old pasta is regaining attention after it was recently featured on a popular medical YouTube channel.
According to the initial report, published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a 20-year-old man, identified as A.J., became sick after eating spaghetti and tomato sauce that had been made just five days earlier.
The report’s authors said the pasta had been stored at room temperature before the the student warmed it up in the microwave.
“Immediately after eating, he left home for his sports activities, but he returned 30 minutes later because of headache, abdominal pain and nausea. At his arrival, he vomited profusely for several hours and at midnight had two episodes of water diarrhea,” authors wrote. “After midnight, he fell asleep. The next morning at 11:00 AM, his parents were worried because he did not get up. When they went to his room, they found him dead.”
Doctors said significant amounts of B. cereus, a known food-poisoning organism, were found in the spoiled pasta.
In the YouTube clip, Dr. Bernard, a man who said he is a licensed provider trained and based in the United States, surmised the pasta shut down A.J.’s liver.
“Typically, food poisoning just causes stomach inflammation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, it doesn’t typically cause acute liver failure, and even worse, we can’t find out which bacteria is causing the problem because culturing it would take days – days A.J. doesn’t have because his liver is quickly shutting down,” Bernard said.
Bernard also noted that A.J.’s case is not typical. However, it serves as a reminder to be wary of food left out without being refrigerated.
Doctors had a similar conclusion.
“Because the emetic toxin is preformed in food and is not inactivated by heat treatment, it is important to prevent B. cereus growth and its cereulide production during storage,” they wrote.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.