Yersinia Enterocolitica in South Africa

Abstract

Ex Africa semper aliquid novi. Pliny The first confirmed isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica in South Africa was made in 1966 from the peritoneal fluid of a man with mesenteric lymphadenitis and ascites. 1 This discovery aroused keen local interest in Y. enterocolitica infections which have subsequently been diagnosed in patients presenting with a variety of clinical conditions. 2-6 In South Africa investigations of Y. enterocolitica have, for the most part, centered around a number of specific problems pertaining to the clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological aspects of yersiniosis encountered in this country. In this article our experience in South Africa with this unusually versatile p..