Isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica from foods

Many selective enrichment and plating media for the isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica from foods are described. However, at present no single isolation procedure is available for the recovery of all pathogenic strains of Yersinia enterocolitica. Cold enrichment in phosphate-buffered saline plus 1% sorbitol and 0.15% bile salts (PBSSB) and two-step enrichment with tryptone soy broth (TSB) and bile oxalate sorbose (BOS) broth are very efficient methods for the recovery of a wide spectrum of serotypes of Y. enterocolitica. Enrichment in irgasan ticarcillin chlorate (ITC) broth was found to be the most efficient method for the recovery of strains of serotype 0:3, which is the most common clinical serotype of Y. enterocolitica in Europe. Post-enrichment alkali treatment often results in higher isolation rates. Cefsulodin irgasan novobiocin (CIN) agar and Salmonella-Shigella deoxycholate calcium chloride (SSDC) agar are the most commonly used plating media. For the recovery of serotype 0:8 strains, the common clinical isolates in North America, enrichment in BOS and plating on CIN seems the most efficient procedure. Selection of the proper enrichment procedure will depend on the bio/serotypes of Yersinia spp. sought and on the type of food to be examined. The use of more than one medium for both enrichment and plating will result in higher recovery rates of Yersinia spp. from foods. Parallel use of the following two isolation procedures is recommended. (1) Enrichment in ITC for 2 days at 24 degrees C; plating on SSDC agar (2 days at 30 degrees C). (2) Pre-enrichment in TSB for 1 day at 24 degrees C; enrichment in BOS for 5 days at 24 degrees C; alkali treatment (mixing 0.5 ml enriched broth with 4.5 ml of 0.5% KOH in 0.5% NaCl for 5 s); plating on CIN agar (2 days at 24 degrees C).