Detection of Pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica by a Swab Enrichment PCR Procedure

The Gram-negative Yersinia genus belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae , in which 3 of the 11 Yersinia species are recognized as human pathogens, namely Y. pestis (the etiological factor of plague), Y. pesudotuberculosis , and Y. enterocolitica (the causative agents for yersiniosis) (1 ). The rest of the genus is composed of Y. ruckeri (a fish pathogen) and the Y. enterocolitica-like organisms (2 ,3 ), which have been biochemically classified as 7 species: Y. fredriksenii, Y. kristensenii, Y. intermedia, Y. aldovae, Y. rohdei, Y. mollaretii , and Y. bercoveri (4–7). The heterogeneous composition of Y. enterocolitica , with respect to phenotypic and genotypic properties, is problematic from an analytical point of view; the species being distinguished by 6 biogroups (8 ) and more than 60 serotypes (9 ).