Isolation of Pathogenic Yersiniae from Wild Animals in Bulgaria

Abstract

Pathogenic Yersinia strains were isolated between December 1998 and April 1999 from 37 wild animals: rabbit (Lepus europeus), boar (Sus scrofa scrofa), asiatic jackal (Canis aureus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), mouflon (Ovis musimon), european river otter (Lutra lutra), beech marten (Martes foina), polecat (Musleta putorius) and wild cat (Felis silvestris). It was established that among the wild animals Y. enterocolitica strains of serotype 0:3 predominated, accompanied by Y. pseudotuberculosis strains of serotype 0:3. In one sample from asiatic jackal and one sample from rabbit, Y. enterocolitica serotype 0:8 was isolated. Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis strains were isolated from tonsils and tongues as well as from the viscera--lung, liver, heart, spleen, kidney and lymph nodes, mainly in young animals (1-2 years of age). The results showed that wild animals are a possible natural reservoir for pathogenic Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis and are included in the epidemiological chain of yersinioses.

Intranasal Inoculation of Mice withYersinia pseudotuberculosisCauses a Lethal Lung Infection That Is Dependent onYersiniaOuter Proteins andPhoP

“…Y. pseudotuberculosis is generally considered an enteric pathogen; however, it has been recovered from the lungs of infected animals (50,60). Given this observation and that Y. pseudotuberculosis is closely related to Y. pestis (1), we determined whether Y. pseudotuberculosis IP2666pIB1 was capable of colonizing the lungs of mice following intranasal inoculation.…”

“…Indeed, the outbred strain of mice used here was more resistant to Y. pseudotuberculosis replication. It is noteworthy that experimentally induced pneumonia with aerosolized enteric Yersinia has been documented in several other mammals (20,82), and there are cases of the recovery of enteric Yersinia from the lungs of infected animals (7,12,50,60,61), although in such cases spread to the lungs most likely occurred after oral ingestion and subsequent systemic spread.…”

Transmission of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in the Pork Production Chain from Farm to Slaughterhouse

“…These farm factors seem to include contact with animals and with the outside environment. Y. pseudotuberculosis has been isolated from many different animals and soil (8,9,24,26), and some Y. pseudotuberculosis strains from wild animals, the environment, and pigs have been shown to have the same patterns in restriction endonuclease analysis of virulence plasmids (9). Pest animals and the environment are therefore a possible initial source of Y. pseudotuberculosis for pigs on farms.…”

“…The prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica has been shown to be higher in specialized slaughter pig production than in conventional farrow-to-finish production and in conventional production than in organic production (27,31). Because Y. pseudotuberculosis has been isolated from soil and a multitude of wild animals (8,9,24,26), the prevalence of Y. pseudotuberculosis may be increased in production systems, such as organic pig production, where pigs have contact with the outside environment.…”

High Incidence ofYersinia enterocolitica(Enterobacteriaceae) in Alpine AccentorsPrunella collarisof the Tatra Mountains

“…Isolated bacterial cultures from cloacal and pharyngeal swabs were enriched in Trypton-soya broth at 24°C for two days (Nikolova et al 2001). Enriched cultures were plated on selective medium, e.g.…”