Identification and typing of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis isolated from human clinical specimens in England between 2004 and 2018.
PurposeandMethodology. Epidemiological and microbiological data on Yersinia enterocolitica (n=699) and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (n=35) isolated from human clinical specimens in England between April 2004 and March 2018 were reviewed. Traditional biochemical species identification and serological typing results were compared with species identifications and serotypes derived from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data for a sub-set of these isolates (n=179).Results. Most Y. enterocolitica isolates were from faecal specimens (74.4%) from adults (80.7%) and 50.7  % of isolates were from male patients. Most Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates were from blood cultures (68.6%) from adults (91%) and 60.0  % of isolates were from male patients. All sequenced isolates of Y. enterocolitica (n=158) and Y. pseudotuberculosis (n=21), as well as isolates belonging to other Yersinia species (n=21), were correctly identified from genomic data using a kmer-based identification approach. Traditional phenotypic serotyping typed 82/158 and 12/21 isolates of Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, respectively, while 118/158 and 21/21 isolates of Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, respectively, were typed by the genome-derived serotyping method. In addition, WGS data provided a multi-locus sequence type profile and virulence gene profile for all isolates.Conclusion. The use of WGS for typing Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis at Public Health England will facilitate the monitoring of animal-to-human transmission of these important foodborne pathogens in the UK and improve public health surveillance of the pathogenic lineages.
['Hunter|Ebony|E|', 'Greig|David R|DR|', 'Schaefer|Ulf|U|', 'Wright|Michael J|MJ|', 'Dallman|Timothy J|TJ|', 'McNally|Alan|A|', 'Jenkins|Claire|C|']
D000328:Adult D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques D004739:England D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring D005243:Feces D005260:Female D016680:Genome, Bacterial D006801:Humans D008297:Male D011634:Public Health D012703:Serotyping D014774:Virulence D000073336:Whole Genome Sequencing D015009:Yersinia Infections D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica D015011:Yersinia pseudotuberculosis D015012:Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infections
Yersinia species foodborne pathogen public health surveillance whole genome sequencing