12 children were off from the primary school with intense abdominal cramps followed by watery diarrhea 6-10 hours after a bihday pay. The most likely causative organism is:

Clostridium perfringens infection characteristically presents after 8 to 16 hours of consumptions of food material and causes abdominal cramps, followed by diarrhea. Thus all features presented in question are consistent with a diagnosis of Clostridium perfringens infection. Meats, meat products, and gravy are the foods most frequently implicated. Ref: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 15th Edition, Page 837 ; Food Microbiology By M. R. Adams, M. O. Moss, 2008, Page 209