Yersiniosis



Yersiniosis



Contact Precautions



Yersiniosis is a rare infectious disease that causes bacterial gastroenteritis. Symptoms vary according to the age of the infected person. It mostly affects young children, predominantly those under age 12 months. Yersiniosis occurs more frequently in cooler climates. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 17,000 cases occur in the United States each year. The disease is more common in Japan, Scandinavia, and Europe.


Causes

Yersinia enterocolitica, a rod-shaped bacterium, causes yersiniosis. Pigs are a reservoir for some strains of this bacterium, with other strains being found in rodents, rabbits, sheep, cattle, horses, dogs, and cats. Transmission is through ingestion of contaminated food, especially raw or undercooked pork products, including chitterlings (pig intestines), as well as tofu, meats, oysters, and fish. It may also be transmitted after handling contaminated food, not cleaning the hands properly, and then touching toys, bottles, or pacifiers. Transmission may also occur through drinking contaminated unpasteurized milk or untreated water. Rarely, yersiniosis can be transmitted by the fecal-oral route as a result of poor handwashing after defecation. Blood trans-fusion can cause direct inoculation of the bacteria.

Jul 20, 2016 | Posted by in INFECTIOUS DISEASE | Comments Off on Yersiniosis

Full access? Get Clinical Tree

Get Clinical Tree app for offline access