Yersinia species (non-plague)

MICROBIOLOGY

• Gram-negative coccobacilli of the family Enterobacteriaceae, facultative anaerobe
• 3 Yersinia species cause human disease: Y. pestis (see separate module), Y. enterocolitica [Fig 1] and Y. pseudotuberculosis.
  • Other Yersiniae: Y. fredrikensii, Y. intermedia, Y. kristensenii, Y. bercovieri, Y. mollaretti, Y. rhodei, Y. ruckeri, Y. aldovae MAY rarely cause gastroenteritis and soft tissue infections in humans.
• Culture growth is best on cefsulodin-igrasan-novobiocin (CIN), xylose-lysine-deoxycholate (XLD), Hektoen enteric (HE) or other specific media.