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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2005, p. 7117-7121, Vol. 71, No. 11
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.11.7117-7121.2005

Prevalence of Pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica Strains in Pigs in the United States

Saumya Bhaduri,^1* Irene V. Wesley,² and Eric J. Bush³

Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038,¹ National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2300 Dayton Road, Ames, Iowa,² Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 555 South Howes Street, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521³

Received 2 March 2005/ Accepted 23 July 2005

Yersinia enterocolitica is considered an important food-borne pathogen impacting the pork production and processing industry in the United States. Since this bacterium is a commensal of swine, the primary goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in pigs in the United Sates using feces as the sample source. A total of 2,793 fecal samples were tested for its presence in swine. Fecal samples were collected from late finisher pigs from 77 production sites in the 15 eastern and midwestern pork-producing states over a period of 27 weeks (6 September 2000 to 20 March 2001). The prevalence of ail-positive Y. enterocolitica was determined in samples using both a fluorogenic 5' nuclease PCR assay and a culture method. The mean prevalence was 13.10% (366 of 2,793 fecal samples tested) when both PCR- and culture-positive results were combined. Forty-one of 77 premises (53.25%) contained at least one fecal sample positive for the ail sequence. The PCR assay indicated a contamination rate of 12.35% (345/2,793) compared to 4.08% (114/2,793) by the culture method. Of the 345 PCR-positive samples, 252 were culture negative, while of the 114 culture-positive samples, 21 were PCR negative. Among 77 premises, the PCR assay revealed a significantly (P < 0.05) higher percentage (46.75%, n = 36 sites) of samples positive for the pathogen (ail sequence) than the culture method (22.08%, n = 17 sites). Thus, higher sensitivity, with respect to number of samples and sites identified as positive for the PCR method compared with the culture method for detecting pathogenic Y. enterocolitica, was demonstrated in this study. The results support the hypothesis that swine are a reservoir for Y. enterocolitica strains potentially pathogenic for humans.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 East Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038. Phone: (215) 233-6521. Fax: (215) 233-6559. E-mail: sbhaduri{at}errc.ars.usda.gov.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2005, p. 7117-7121, Vol. 71, No. 11
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.11.7117-7121.2005

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