ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with zoonotic aspects of Y. enterocolitica infection with special reference to the prevalence of Y. enterocolitica in animals and any clinical manifestations in the different animal species. It discusses the tentative role of animals as the transmitters of Y. enterocolitica bacteria to humans. Recovery of Y. enterocolitica from animals was described for the first time in the early 1960s from swine, chinchillas, and hares. The frequency of performed isolations of Y. enterocolitica has risen dramatically in recent years. Isolations of Y. enterocolitica have been obtained from zoo animals, such as the camel, monkey, ocelot, and Pekin robin. In studies reported from Europe, Japan, Canada, and South Africa Y. enterocolitica serotype O:3 has in many cases been isolated from pigs. Isolation of Y. enterocolitica from deer has been reported from the United States and Japan. The clinical symptomatology resembled that seen in earlier cases of Y. pseudotuberculosis infections in the zoo.
