Infectious Agents Yersinia pseudotuberculosis . Many cases of yersiniosis occur in children. It is a serious acute enteric disease that is primarily a zoonotic disease of wild and domesticated birds and mammals.
Humans are accidental hosts.
Yersinia can be transmitted by blood transfusion when the donor is asymptomatically infected and the organism multiplies at refrigeration temperatures. The specimen of choice in an enteric disease is a freshly passed stool. Rectal swabs will not yield maximal number of positive cultures and are not of value when examining convalescent patients or surveying for carriers. Multiple specimens should be cultured. The specimens should be collected early in the course of disease before initiation of antimicrobial therapy.