Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

• • Less virulent than Y. pestis but closely related
  • Mainly infect animals
  • One plasmid, required for virulence
  • Sporadic cases of pseudotuberculosis in animals and man
  • Wild birds and rodents provide a reservoir of infection by harbouring the the pathogen in their intestinal tract
  • Sources include food and water contaminated by faeces
  • Pseudotuberculosis (caseous abscesses) in rodents, guinea pigs, cats, turkeys
  • Epidymo-orchitis in rams
  • Abortion in goats
  • Occasional infections in pigs, cattle, sheep
  • Multiplication in macrophages leads to granuloma formation
  • Granulomas occur in the gut wall and mesenteric lymph nodes
  • Occasional spread from the mesenteric lymph nodes to the liver and spleen

see Yersiniosis - Birds