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Category: Food Microbiology
Yersinia enterocolitica, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819972/9781555819965.ch16-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555819972/9781555819965.ch16-2.gifAbstract:
This chapter discusses Yersinia enterocolitica, a zoonotic pathogen that causes yersiniosis in humans and animals. Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, non-toxin-producing, rod-shaped bacterium. It is an aerobic bacterium but can grow anaerobically and is a good competitor with other bacteria. An important property of this bacterium is its ability to multiply at temperatures near 0°C, which allows it to survive in many chilled foods. Growth temperatures for Y. enterocolitica range from 0 to 44°C. This bacterium belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae, whose members are often isolated from clinical specimens. Since Y. enterocolitica is widely distributed in nature, it has the potential to contaminate foods, especially surfaces of produce items. Contamination of foods with this pathogen and its ability to survive at low temperatures in storage make it a concern for both food manufacturers and consumers. This chapter covers the persistence, survival, and growth of yersiniae in foods; the detection and identification of Yersinia in foods; the incidence of outbreaks of foodborne yersiniosis, its pathogenesis, and outbreak surveillance; and finally zoonosis virulence and pathogenesis. Possible routes of transmission and conditions necessary for survival and growth in food systems are discussed as well. Finally, we suggest that an improved method for detection and characterization of this pathogen is needed to effectively distinguish genotypes among strains isolated from humans and food systems.
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Sources of Yersinia enterocolitica. Adapted with permission from reference 23 .
Methods used for epidemiological studies of Y. enterocolitica 1. Numbers in parentheses are reference numbers. Selective enrichment methods ( 70 ), selective agar media ( 5 ), a cold enrichment method ( 71 ), and biochemical and serological identification methods (71– 78 ) are listed. BOS, bile-oxalate-sorbose medium; CIN, cefsulodin-irgasan-novobiocin; ITC, modified Rappaport base supplemented with irgasan, ticarcillin, and potassium chlorate; MRB, modified Rappaport broth containing magnesium chloride, malachite green, and carbenicillin; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; PSB, phosphate-buffered saline with sorbitol and bile salts; SSDC, Salmonella-Shigella deoxycholate calcium chloride; SSI, Statens Serum Institut (Copenhagen, Denmark) enteric medium; TSB, tryptic soy broth; TSPN, TSB with polymyxin and novobiocin; VYE, virulent Y. enterocolitica. Adapted with permission from reference 23 .
Virulence factors on the surface of Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica (A), and Y. pestis (B). Invasin, YadA, Ail, and O antigen are shared by Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis (YadB and YadC are absent from panel A for clarity), whereas Pla is unique to Y. pestis. YadA and invasin are important adhesins in Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica but are not expressed by Y. pestis. Reprinted from reference 79 .
Detection of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in naturally contaminated samples using PCR and culture methods a
Epidemiologic studies of human infection with Y. enterocolitica a