Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 04 1997, 257-276, Vol 10, No. 2
EJ Bottone
Yersinia enterocolitica, a gram-negative coccobacillus, comprises a
heterogeneous group of bacterial strains recovered from animal and
environmental reservoirs. The majority of human pathogenic strains are
found among distinct serogroups (e.g. O:3, O:5,27, O:8, O:9) and contain
both chromosome- and plasmid (60 to 75 kb)-mediated virulence factors that
are absent in "avirulent" strains. While Y. enterocolitica is primarily a
gastrointestinal tract pathogen, it may produce extraintestinal infections
in hosts with underlying predisposing factors. Postinfection sequelae
include arthritis and erythema nodosum, which are seen mainly in Europe
among patients with serogroups O:3 and O:9 infection and HLA-B27 antigen.
Y. enterocolitica is acquired through the oral route and is
epidemiologically linked to porcine sources. Bacteremia is prominent in the
setting of immunosuppression or in patients with iron overload or those
being treated with desferrioxamine. metastatic foci following bacteremia
are common and often involve the liver and spleen. Of particular concern is
blood transfusion-related bacteremia. Evidence has accumulated
substantiating the role of Y. enterocolitica as a food-borne pathogen that
has caused six major outbreaks in the United States. The diagnosis of Y.
enterocolitica gastroenteritis is best achieved through isolation of the
bacterium on routine or selective bacteriologic media. When necessary,
serogrouping, biogrouping, and assessment for plasmid- encoded virulence
traits may aid in distinguishing virulent from "avirulent" strains.
Epidemiologically, outside of identified food- borne outbreaks, the source
(reservoir) of Y. enterocolitica in sporadic cases is speculative.
Therefore, prevention and control measures are difficult to institute.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Yersinia enterocolitica: the charisma continues
Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York 10029, USA.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»