ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF YERSINIA-ENTEROCOLITICA FROM HUMANS AND ANIMALS

During an 11-year period (1983 to 1994), 51 strains of Yersinia entero colitica were isolated from humans and animals. Specimens were collect ed from a total of 3601 sources consisting of 956 patients with enteri tis, 300 patients with urinary tract infection, 1564 healthy humans, 5 10 swine, 38 guinea-pigs, 118 rats and 115 rabbits. Five strains of Y. enterocolitica, bio/serogroups 2/O:9 and 4/O:3, virulence positive, w ere recovered from patients. Forty-two variants of Y. enterocolitica b elonging to pathogenic serogroup O:3, Voges-Proskauer-negative biogrou p 3 were recovered from swine, rats and rabbits. The rate of isolation of Y. enterocolitica from diarrhoeal swine was apparently greater tha n those from healthy swine. The incidence of human infections due to Y . enterocolitica was very low and bioserogroups of isolates were diffe rent from the strains which were isolated from animals. There was no e vidence to suggest that swine were the source of Y. enterocolitica in humans.