A physician assistant would suspect food poisoning from Staphylococcus aureus in a patient who presents with

• A. Ingestion of mayonnaise-based salads 48 hours earlier.
• B. High fever.
• C. Bloody diarrhea with mucus for one week.
• D. Abdominal cramps and vomiting.

Answer: (D)

Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning happens when preformed enterotoxins in contaminated foods are swallowed. The giveaway is a rapid onset of symptoms—usually within a few hours—centered on sudden vomiting and abdominal cramps, with fever typically not prominent. Foods often implicated include mayonnaise-based salads and other ready-to-eat items kept too long at room temperature.

So the presentation of abdominal cramps and vomiting matches the classic pattern from Staph enterotoxins. The option describing ingestion of mayonnaise-based salads 48 hours earlier has the wrong timing for this toxin (it would cause symptoms much sooner), a high fever is not typical for Staph food poisoning, and bloody diarrhea with mucus for a week points to an invasive bacterial infection rather than a toxin-mediated, rapid-onset illness.