Scientists are zeroing in on a fast, reliable method to detect the presence of a bacterium that thrives in the meat people consume and in injuries suffered by humans and animals. Any time you get a cafeteria entree that's been floating a while in meat sauce, Clostridium perfringens could be growing in it.
People can come down with abdominal cramps and nausea.
It can cause people to lose time at work. They will think they have a flu bug. Poisoning from Clostridium perfringens is among the most widely occurring food-borne illnesses in the United States, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. It often is unreported, but the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 10,000 cases occur each year. Victims usually have eaten in institutions where large quantities of foods are prepared.