Iersiniosis is an infectious disease that is characterized by damage to the gastrointestinal tract, skin, joints, and other organs and systems. Since, first of all, the intestine is affected, the disease is often called intestinal yersiniosis.
Most often the disease is characterized by acute course and lasts up to three months. However, in some cases, iersiniosis has a chronic course with periods of exacerbations and relapses (duration of the disease is up to 2 years). The risk of infection is present in people of all age groups.
Causative agent of yersiniosis
The disease is caused by bacteria Yersinia enterocolitica (Yersinia). These microorganisms are resistant to low temperatures and freezing. Bend these bacteria when drying, exposure to solar radiation and various chemical reagents (chloramine, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol), while boiling.
Yersiniosis is transmitted by food, water and by contact-household ways. The sources of the causative agent are wild and domestic animals (rats, dogs, cats, cows, pigs), birds, as well as people - patients and carriers of bacteria. The causative agent of intestinal yersiniosis falls on vegetables, fruits, and water.
Penetrating into the human body, iersinii partially die in an acidic gastric environment, and the rest of the microorganisms enters the intestine. In general, the pathological process affects the distal small intestine. With a large number of pathogens infection is likely to penetrate the lymph vessels into the lymph nodes, liver, spleen. When they penetrate the blood, the heart, lungs, joints may suffer. It can also lead to the fact that the disease will become chronic.
Symptoms of intestinal yersiniosis
The incubation period can be from 15 hours to two weeks. There are four clinical forms of the disease:
- gastrointestinal;
- abdominal;
- generalized;
- secondary-focal.
Common to all forms of yersiniosis are the following symptoms:
- sudden occurrence of fever;
- abdominal pain;
- increased frequency of stools;
- vomiting ;
- muscle and joint pain;
- headache;
- the appearance of skin rashes (often in the lower part of the limbs);
- enlarged lymph nodes.
Most often in adults, the gastrointestinal form of yersiniosis is diagnosed with symptoms of gastrointestinal tract damage and general intoxication of the body, development of dehydration. Often, the disease is accompanied by mild catarrhal phenomena - perspiration in the throat, dry cough , runny nose.
Diagnosis of yersiniosis
To diagnose the disease requires a series of tests on iersiniosis - laboratory tests of blood, stool, bile, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid in order to identify the pathogen. Since bacteriological diagnosis requires considerable time (up to 30 days), the quality of the rapid analysis is used to determine the reactions of antigen Yersinia in biological fluids.
Prophylaxis of yersiniosis
To prevent the disease should adhere to the basic rules of personal hygiene, comply with sanitary regulations in public catering establishments, monitor the condition of water sources.
It is necessary to adhere to the following rules of food storage and processing:
- Thoroughly wash vegetables and fruits before use.
- Do not eat or store in the refrigerator products that have expired.
- Observe the temperature and time norms for storing cooked food.
- Eat meat after long heat treatment.