Yersinia Isolates 2018

Yersinia enterocolitica (YE) biotype 2/3 serotype O9 remains the most commonly identified type, accounting for 56% of confirmations followed by YE Biotype 1A and YE biotype 4 serotype 3 each accounting for 19%.

The pathogenicity of Biotype 1A continues to be researched internationally.

Confirmations of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis have decreased annually since 2014 when there was a large outbreak involving 220 confirmed cases [ref: https://www.esr.cri.nz/home/about-esr/our-science-in-action/esrs-response-to-the-yersinia-pseudotuberculosis-outbreak/]. In 2018 there were 15 isolates confirmed; however, the low number of identifications maybe due to two laboratories collectively testing up to 50% of the population now using a culture independent diagnostic method which does not detect this species.

NZ Yersinia typing studies have recently been published:

Strydom, H., Wang, J., Paine, S., Dyet, K., Cullen, K., & Wright, J. (2019). Evaluating sub-typing methods for pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica to support outbreak investigations in New Zealand. Epidemiology and Infection, 147, E186. doi:10.1017/S0950268819000773