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A report from the University Cote d'Azur in Sophia-Antipolis, France, discusses the findings of a study on Bacillus cereus, a type of Gram-Positive Bacteria commonly associated with foodborne outbreaks. The study reveals that while ingestion of vegetative bacteria leads to their rapid elimination from the intestine, ingestion of spores allows the bacteria to persist for at least 10 days. The spores do not germinate in the anterior part of the intestine, where the immune defenses are located, but instead germinate in the posterior intestine, dampening the immune response and promoting bacterial persistence. The study sheds light on how Bc spores manipulate the immune system to cause digestive symptoms associated with foodborne illness outbreaks. [Extracted from the article]