Yersinia enterocolitica, a Neglected Cause of Human Enteric Infections in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

BackgroundEnteropathogenic Yersinia circulate in the pig reservoir and are the third bacterial cause of human gastrointestinal infections in Europe. In West Africa, reports of human yersiniosis are rare. This study was conducted to determine whether pathogenic Yersinia are circulating in pig farms and are responsible for human infections in the Abidjan District.Methodology/Principal findingsFrom June 2012 to December 2013, pig feces were collected monthly in 41 swine farms of the Abidjan district. Of the 781 samples collected, 19 Yersinia strains were isolated in 3 farms: 7 non-pathogenic Yersinia intermedia and 12 pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica bioserotype 4/O:3. Farm animals other than pigs and wild animals were not found infected. Furthermore, 2 Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3 strains were isolated from 426 fecal samples of patients with digestive disorders. All 14 Y. enterocolitica strains shared the same PFGE and MLVA profile, indicating their close genetic relationship. However, while 6 of them displayed the usual phage type VIII, the other 8 had the highly infrequent phage type XI. Whole genome sequencing and SNP analysis of individual colonies revealed that phage type XI strains had unusually high rates of mutations. These strains displayed a hypermutator phenotype that was attributable to a large deletion in the mutS gene involved in DNA mismatch repair.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study demonstrates that pathogenic Y. enterocolitica circulate in the pig reservoir in Côte d'Ivoire and cause human infections with a prevalence comparable to that of many developed countries. The paucity of reports of yersiniosis in West Africa is most likely attributable to a lack of active detection rather than to an absence of the microorganism. The identification of hypermutator strains in pigs and humans is of concern as these strains can rapidly acquire selective advantages that may increase their fitness, pathogenicity or resistance to commonly used treatments.

Identification of Yersinia at the Species and Subspecies Levels Is Challenging

“…(Table 2). Surprisingly, this type has also newly been identified in pigs and humans in West Africa (36). Bioserotype 4/O:3 strains have also been found in pork, which appears to be an important infection source for human infections (3,74).…”

The Yersinia Phage X1 Administered Orally Efficiently Protects a Murine Chronic Enteritis Model Against Yersinia enterocolitica Infection

“…Yersiniosis is mainly caused by Yersinia enterocolitica, which is a facultative anaerobic Gramnegative bacterium that belongs to the Yersiniaceae family (Adeolu et al, 2016;Saraka et al, 2017). Yersiniosis is the third most common zoonotic disease in New Zealand and the most country of European Union (e.g., Germany and Finland) following campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis (Rosner et al, 2010;Strydom et al, 2019).…”

Diversity of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from pigs in a French slaughterhouse over 2 years

“…Gierczynski et al () showed that the MLVA type remained unchanged after 20 serial passages of a strain in vitro. In vivo, the same MLVA type was recovered from humans after repeated isolations from one or more patients with yersiniosis (Gierczynski et al, ; Sihvonen et al, ) as well as in pigs on farms when sampled at a 6‐month interval (Saraka et al, ). Thus, like PFGE profiles, MLVA types are likely to remain stable and survive unchanged for long periods.…”