[Pseudotumoral mesenteric lymphadenitis due to Yersinia enterocolitica in a child (author's transl)]

A 20 month-old girl with Thalassemia major presented with a pseudotumoral mesenteric lymphadenitis due to Yersinia enterocolitica. The authors stress the rarity of this type of Yersinia infection. The clinical and bacteriological diagnosis is difficult and is based on the early isolation and identification of the bacterial strain, thus allowing an efficient antibiotic treatment. The frequency of such a Yersinia infection in thalassemic children is further discussed.