Bacillus species (not anthracis)

Bacteria of the genus Bacillus are widely distributed in nature, useful in agriculture and industry, and occasionally directly harmful to humans. The uniqueness of Bacillus relates to its ability to produce spores that can survive desiccation, heat, and cold and can germinate readily. The toxins that cause anthrax and food poisoning are encoded by plasmid-borne genes, allowing different species to have strikingly similar chromosomal DNA despite radically different phenotypes. Bacillus infections are uncommon and often associated with trauma or foreign bodies. Food poisoning caused by Bacillus spp. is much less common than other forms of bacterial food poisoning and almost always brief and self-limited. Treatment of Bacillus infections is usually straightforward once the species has been determined. Prevention of infection and intoxication is desirable, but the challenge of eradicating spores and destroying some heat-stable toxins reminds us how lucky we are that these infections and intoxications are rare.