Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
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- 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