Sporadic human Yersinia enterocolitica infections caused by bioserotype 4/O : 3 originate mainly from pigs.
Yersinia enterocolitica 4/O : 3 is the most frequent cause of sporadic human yersiniosis in Finland and Germany. To investigate the possible link between pigs and humans, 282 human and 534 porcine strains from Finland and Germany were characterized with PFGE using NotI, ApaI and XhoI enzymes. Most of the human strains (>80 %) were indistinguishable from the porcine strains in both countries and most of the genotypes (178/182) were different in Finland and Germany. The indistinguishable genotypes among human and porcine strains together with different genotypes in Finland and Germany indicate that pigs are an important source of sporadic yersiniosis in both countries.
Fredriksson-Ahomaa
Maria
M
Institute of Hygiene and Technology of Food of Animal Origin, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Stolle
Andreas
A
Institute of Hygiene and Technology of Food of Animal Origin, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
Siitonen
Anja
A
Department of Bacterial and Inflammatory Diseases, National Public Health Institute (KTL), Helsinki, Finland.
Korkeala
Hannu
H
Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, University of Helsinki, Finland.