Alavi, S. M., E. Rahimi & E. Tajbakhsh, 2018. Prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica in raw small ruminant milk in Shahrekord, Iran. Bulg. J. Vet. Med., 21, No 3, 364–370.

DOI: 10.15547/bjvm.1088

Yersinia enterocolitica is a common food-borne pathogen involved in yersiniosis among humans. The present study aimed to isolate virulent Y. enterocolitica from small ruminant milk in Shahrekord, Iran. One hundred raw milk samples of 84 sheep and 16 goats were collected from different parts of Shahrekord, during fall 2015. The samples were studied by microbial method and the positive-culture samples were investigated using PCR techniques. According to the results, 9% of all samples (sheep milk) were positive after microbial culture; subsequently 5% of positive samples were confirmed as O:3-positive bioserotypes. After gene detection, the ail gene was found in 4 isolates, the yadA gene in 3, the virF and ystA genes in 2 Y. enterocolitica strains. Isolation of Y. enterocolitica from raw milk suggested a high risk of yersiniosis associated with consumption of raw sheep milk.

Key words: goat, milk, sheep, Yersinia enterocolitica