Persistence of Yersinia enterocolitica bio-serotype 4/O:3 in a pork production chain in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Yersinia enterocolitica bio-serotype 4/O:3 was previously identified in a pork production chain in Brazil and the obtained isolates presented high identity by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE, XbaI). For the current study, an additional 147 porcine samples (tonsils = 100, palate = 30, head meat = 17) were collected from the same pork production chain 2-years later and 14 (9.5%) tested positive for Y. enterocolitica. Isolates (n = 24, 1 to 2 per positive sample) were bio-serotype 4/O:3 and harbored virulence genes ail , inv , wbbU , virF , myfA , ystA , ymoA , hreP and sat , and the multidrug resistance related genes emrD , marC and yfhD. PFGE (XbaI) demonstrated no differences among isolates (100% similarity) and were identical to some Y. enterocolitica isolates (n = 13) obtained previously from the same pork chain. A second PFGE analysis (NotI) confirmed the high degree of similarity among isolates obtained over time, demonstrating the persistence of an apparent clonal Y. enterocolitica bio-serotype 4/O:3 in this particular pork production chain in Brazil. • Persistence of Y. enterocolitica in a pork chain after 2-years. • Identical bio-serotype (4/O:3) and virulence markers. • Identical DNA fragments after XbaI digestion. • High similarity after NotI digestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]