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