Yersinia arthritis mimicking acute rheumatic fever. A case report

A reactive or post-infectious arthritis is a well-known complication of yersinia enterocolitica infection and tends to occur in patients with the HLA-B27 haplotype. We describe such a patient, who in addition satisfied the revised Jones criteria for a diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever. Our case illustrates that arthritis due to Yersinia may mimic acute rheumatic fever both clinically and serologically. In areas where Yersinia infection is known to occur, infection with this organism should be excluded in all patients who satisfy the revised Jones criteria.