Yersiniosis - Yersiniosis : Causes, Symptom, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Treatment

Yersiniosis
What is yersiniosis?
Yersiniosis is an infection. Most often, people get this infection when they eat pork that’s raw or undercooked. one can also get it from other animals, such as rodents, cows, sheep, rabbits and horses. Less commonly, dogs and cats can spread the bacteria, too. Young children are more likely to get yersiniosis.
This infection causes fever and gastrointestinal (GI) problems such as diarrhea. Most often, yersiniosis clears up without treatment. Rarely, yersiniosis can cause other health issues, such as a rash and joint pain. Center of Disease Control estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year. Children are infected more often than adults, and the infection is more common in the winter.
What Causes Yersiniosis?
It results from bacteria called Yersinia enterocolitica. The bacteria that cause yersiniosis can infect humans, cats, dogs, pigs, cattle, and goats. People get yersiniosis by eating or touching food or drink that’s infected with the bacteria. A baby can get it if a caregiver handles infected food without cleaning their hands before touching the baby's toys, bottles, or pacifiers.
Symptoms
Symptoms of yersiniosis can vary depending on the age of the person infected.
In young children, common symptoms are
• fever,
• abdominal pain, and
• diarrhea, which is often bloody.
Symptoms in older children and adults may include
• fever and
• pain on the right side of the abdomen, and may be confused with appendicitis.
Symptoms typically develop 4 to 7 days after exposure and may last 1 to 3 weeks or longer. Complications are rare and can include skin rash, joint pains, or spread of bacteria to the bloodstream.
Remember that you are contagious while you have diarrhea and up to three months after diarrhea has stopped. That means you can spread the infection to others if they come into contact with your feces. Take extra care to wash your hands to avoid spreading the infection and making others sick.
Pathogenesis
Yersinia enterocolitica is a bacterium that causes a disease called yersiniosis. It is spread through contaminated food or water and affects the intestinal tract, particularly the distal small intestine and proximal colon. Here are the steps of how it causes infection:
1. Ingestion: The bacteria are ingested through contaminated food or water.
2. Colonization: The bacteria colonize the intestinal tract, particularly the distal small intestine and proximal colon.
3. Attachment: The bacteria attach to and penetrate the mucus barrier overlying the mucosal epithelial cells.
4. Adherence: The bacteria adhere to intestinal cells, preferentially binding to and penetrating M cells of Peyer's patches.
5. Internalization: The bacteria are internalized by phagocytes and transported across the epithelial barrier.
6. Replication: The bacteria replicate in native murine macrophages and form micro-abscesses in various organs such as PPs (Peyer's patches), MLNs (mesenteric lymph nodes), the spleen, and liver
7. Dissemination: The bacteria can disseminate via the bloodstream to the liver and spleen.
8. Resistance: Within these lesions, the bacteria form microcolonies and appear to be resistant to phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils.
In summary, Yersinia enterocolitica causes infection by colonizing the intestinal tract, attaching and penetrating the mucus barrier, and replicating within macrophages, forming micro-abscesses in various organs.
Diagnosis
Yersiniosis usually is diagnosed by detecting the organism in the stool of an infected person. Many laboratories do not routinely test for Yersinia, so it is important to notify laboratory personnel when yersiniosis is suspected so that special tests can be done. The organism can also be recovered from other sites, including the throat, lymph nodes, joint fluid, urine, bile, and blood.
Most diagnoses of yersiniosis are made via ELISA immunoassay testing.[5][2] However, in locations without access to this form of testing, traditional bacterial cultures may be created and then biochemically tested.[2]
Treatment
Most of the time, yersiniosis gets better without treatment from provider. The body gets rid of the bacteria but it can take several weeks for symptoms to go away completely.
Yersiniosis usually goes away on its own without antibiotic treatment. However, antibiotics may be used to treat more severe or complicated infections.