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Yersinia enterocolitica infections can cause significant illness in children, including fever, diarrhea, and rash. This bacterium is also linked to arthritis, mesenteric adenitis, and erythema nodosum in the United States.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
Background:
- Human infections with Yersinia have been documented for decades, with recent attention on Scandinavian reports linking Yersinia to polyarthritis.
- Yersinia enterocolitica infections are increasingly recognized as a cause of various clinical manifestations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a case of Yersinia enterocolitica infection in an infant presenting with prolonged fever, diarrhea, and rash.
- To investigate the etiological role of Yersinia enterocolitica in pediatric infections and associated conditions.
Main Methods:
- Clinical case presentation of a 6-month-old infant with prolonged fever and diarrhea.
- Bacteriological stool culture to identify Yersinia enterocolitica.
- Serological testing, including a rise in serum agglutination titer against Y. enterocolitica.
Main Results:
- Yersinia enterocolitica was identified in stool cultures from the infant.
- A significant rise in serum agglutination titer (0 to 1:256) against Y. enterocolitica was observed.
- The infant's symptoms, including fever, diarrhea, and rash, resolved.
Conclusions:
- Yersinia enterocolitica is a likely cause of arthritis, mesenteric adenitis, and erythema nodosum in the United States.
- Early identification and treatment of Yersinia enterocolitica infections are crucial in pediatric cases.
- This case highlights the importance of considering Yersinia enterocolitica in the differential diagnosis of febrile gastroenteritis in children.
Abstract:
Human infections with Yersinia were first recognized and reported in upper New York State almost 40 years ago. Recently, there have been increasing numbers of reports from Scandinavia of episodes of polyarthritis associated with Yersinia infections. A 6-month-old girl from upstate New York had a fever of 40 C for two weeks and green watery diarrhea, and irritability was noted when she was handled. An evanescent rash was most apparent at times of temperature elevations. Her mother and father had had diarrhea during the month preceding the child's illness. Stool cultures were grown in an effort to identify Yersinia enterocolitica if it was present, and the organism was found. A rise in serum agglutination titer against polyvalent Y. enterocolitica was demonstrated from zero to 1:256 dilutions. Y. enterocolitica is probably a cause of arthritis, mesenteric adenitis, and erythema nodosum in the United States.