ABSTRACT
YERSINIA PESTIS AND PLAGUE There are three Yersinia species pathogenic for humans: Yersinia enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. pestis. Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis are enteropathogens found in contaminated food and water that cause self-limited gastroenteritis and mesenteric lymphadenitis (1,2). Y. pestis evolved from Y. pseudotuberculosis within the last 20,000 years (3) and is the causative agent of plague, a disease that has taken a devastating toll on human populations throughout history (4-6).
