A zoonotic infection, Y. pseudotuberculosis has its natural reservoirs in farm animals, wild rodents, rabbits, deer , and birds, including turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons, pheasants, and canaries. It is transmitted among animals by the fecal-oral route.

Yersiniosis is an infection caused most often by eating raw or undercooked pork contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. CDC estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year.

Yersinia enterocolitica is a zoonotic pathogen and a causative agent of gastroenteritis. Dogs are a potential source of transmission for Y enterocolitica. Most cases of Yersinia gastroenteritis are self-limiting and the value of antibiotic treatment remains unclear.

The enteropathogen, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, requires a large inoculum to produce the disease. The primary virulence factor is a plasmid-encoded protein that causes increased invasiveness.

Meanwhile, 29 countries reported 7,048 confirmed yersiniosis cases in Europe in 2019, according to officials. The highest rates came from Finland, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, according to a report published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Rare Infections: Yersinia Enterocolitica and Yersinia Pseudotuberculosis. Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are bacterial infections that are uncommon, but can cause problems when they occur.

Y. enterocolitica is found in wild and domestic animals, especially pigs. It can also be found in birds, reptiles, rodents, rabbits, sheep, cattle, horses, dogs, and cats.

The most common clinical Y pseudotuberculosis syndromes are self-limited enterocolitis and mesenteric lymphadenitis (pseudoappendicitis), but septicemia may occur in immunocompromised hosts, resulting in metastatic infection.

Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis are bacterial infections that are uncommon, but can cause problems when they occur. Y enterocolitica causes a condition called enterocolitis, which is an inflammation of the small intestine and colon that occurs, and often recurs, mostly in young children.

Yersiniosis due to infection with Y. enterocolitica is a zoonotic gastrointestinal disease in humans. Y. enterocolitica can be isolated from a variety of domestic and wild animals (e.g., pigs, cattle, sheep, goat, rabbits, dogs, cats, wild boars, small rodents).

Yersiniosis is a food-borne illness that has become more prevalent in recent years due to human transmission via the fecal-oral route and prevalence in farm animals. Yersiniosis is primarily caused by Yersinia enterocolitica and less frequently by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

ETIOLOGY: BACTERIAL Yersiniosis is caused by a gram-negative rod, Yersinia enterocolitica. Some readers may recognize the genus name from Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the plague. These two bacteria belong to the same genus but cause different diseases.

The symptoms of yersiniosis depend on the age of the person infected. Infection occurs most often in young children. Common symptoms in children are fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Symptoms typically develop 4 to 7 days after exposure and may last 1 to 3 weeks or longer.