Frequency of Yersinia species infection in paediatric acute diarrhoea in Tehran

This study determined the frequency of Yersinia enterocolitica infection in 300 children with acute diarrhoea aged 0-12 years who were attending a paediatric hospital in Tehran. Over the 5-month study (May-September 2002), Yersinia species and other organisms were cultured and serotyped from stool samples or swabs. Yersinia spp. were found in 8 cases (2.7%). Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli was isolated in 5.7% of cases, Shigella spp. in 3.0% and Salmonella spp. in 2.0%. None of the Y. enterocolitica belonged to the common serotypes of O:3 and O:9. Atypical Yersinia spp. (Y. intermedia and Y. frederiksenii) were isolated. All Y. enterocolitica isolates had a similar pattern of antimicrobial resistance. Yersinia spp. infections are not common in the summer months in Tehran.