Yersinia enterocolitica: Epidemiological Studies and Outbreaks

Abstract

Yersinia enterocolitica is the most common bacteriological cause of gastrointestinal disease in many developed and developing countries. Although contaminated food is the main source of human infection due to Y. enterocolitica, animal reservoir and contaminated environment are also considered as other possible infection sources for human in epidemiological studies. Molecular based epidemiological studies are found to be more efficient in investigating the occurrence of human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in natural samples, in addition to conventional culture based studies.

Detection of pathogenic <i>Yersinia enterocolitica</i> in pet Djungarian hamsters in Japan

“…Yersinia enterocolitica ( Y. enterocolitica ) and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis ( Y. pseudotuberculosis ) are food- and water-borne bacteria that cause human yersiniosis, gastroenteritis, arthritis and septicemia [1, 18, 21]. Sporadic yersiniosis has been reported worldwide, and occasional major outbreaks have been reported in Japan [14, 15, 20].…”

“…Sporadic yersiniosis has been reported worldwide, and occasional major outbreaks have been reported in Japan [14, 15, 20]. Human yersiniosis is usually caused by the consumption of contaminated food, unpasteurized milk or untreated water [21]; however, infected animals have been increasingly recognized as infection sources [18, 23, 24]. Wild rodents are considered a common potential reservoir of Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis [3, 12].…”

Systematic Yersinia enterocolitica in an iron overloaded and immunocompromised thalassemic patient

“…Sporadic yersiniosis has been observed worldwide. Overall, Y. enterocolitica infection occurs more frequently in Europe than in North America; it is rarely observed in tropical countries (6). The organism was first described by Schleifstein and Coleman in 1939 as... an unidentified microorganism resembling Bacterium lignieri and Pasteurella pseudotuberculosis, and pathogenic for man.…”

“…Yersinia is a gram-negative bacillus in the Enterobacteriacae family (6,10). Yersinia can appear small and coccobacillary in Gram-stained smears.…”

“…Adaptation to cold involves changes in protein synthesis and in cell membranes to overcome diminished transcriptional and translational efficiency and reduced fluidity of cell membranes. Other sources include untreated surface water and blood transfusions, the latter because the organism proliferates in iron-rich environments at refrigerator temperatures (5,6,10).…”