The pathogenesis of Yersinia enterocolitica gastroenteritis

Of nine Y. enterocolitica serotypes examined by us, only type 3 was shown to be enteropathogenic. 3 of 16 strains recovered from clinical material, produced a heat-stable toxin similar to that reported in E. coli. A fourth isolate produced histological changes resembling those associated with salmonellae. The mechanism whereby the majority of Y. enterocolitica strains produce diarrhoea is uncertain. Our isolates may have lost a plasmid essential for enteropathogenicity, or they may resemble the 'classical' enteropathogenic strains of E. coli for which no satisfactory experimental model exists. Further studies on freshly isolated strains are in progress in order to determine the prevalence of enterotoxigenic Y. enterocolitica.