Yersiniosis. Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Infectious disease, characteristic of humans and animals, mainly affecting the gastrointestinal tract and having a tendency to generalized defeat of various systems and organs, is called iersiniosis. Symptoms of infection are manifested in the form of chills, headache, weakness, malaise, joint and muscle pain. There may be a decrease in appetite, a sore throat, insomnia.

The mechanisms of preservation and transmission of infection are very close to the pathogenesis of pseudotuberculosis. The similarity is explained by the belonging of their pathogens to one genus Yersinia. The causative agent of yersiniosis is the gram-negative bacterium Yersinia Enterocolitica, which belongs to the family of enterobacteria. The initial stage of infection is characterized by the appearance in the blood of specific antibodies of class IgM, IgA and IgG. The role of animals as a source of infection is unequal. The main pathogen in nature are small rodents. The source of infection may be larger mammals that acutely or excrete pathogens.

The main way of transmission of infection is alimentary. Usually this happens through food contaminated with bacteria. Most often these are meat, dairy, vegetable products. It is often suggested that some pathogens are infected with certain bacteria of this genus.

Sporadic (accidental) precedents of the disease predominate . Diseases are subject to all age categories, but the greatest propensity to it is noted in children under 3 years old, people with immunodeficiencies, weakened immunity. Wavy flow with frequent exacerbations and relapses is one of the specific features that characterizes iersiniosis. Symptoms of it are expressed by a general intoxication, a typical fever, a lesion of the skin, GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, joints. The main forms of the disease are enterocolitis, enteritis, mesadenitis, sepsis and angina are less common, as well as secondary foci of infection. The most frequent complications of the disease are erythema nodosum, peritonitis and reactive arthritis.

In terms of severity, iersiniosis is isolated of mild, moderate and severe septic form. In the course of the disease, it manifests itself in acute, chronic form, with frequent relapses.

Gastroenteritis is the most common disease that starts yersiniosis. Symptoms of it differ little from any acute intestinal infection. Further distribution (generalization) of it throughout the body explains the extremely rich variety of clinical manifestations. They largely depend on the forms of infection, among which are:

• Gastrointestinal form with characteristic lesion of large intestine, stomach, appendix;
• A mixed form in which two or more organs are affected;
• Generalized form associated with the development of sepsis, damage to the lungs, kidneys, liver, shells of the brain;
• Secondary-focal form, which develops against the background of the earlier infectious inflammation. It is inherent in the involvement in the pathological process of the intestines, joints, muscles of the heart, skin.

From the moment the pathogen enters the patient's body before the development of the first clinical manifestations, usually no more than a week passes. They can be expressed in the form of several syndromes characterizing in different forms of yersiniosis. Symptoms General toxic syndrome in the defeat of digestion are manifested in the form of fever, diarrhea, nausea, headache, vomiting, aches in the joints and muscles, disorders of the nervous system. The mild form of the disease usually lasts about 3 days, the severe one can last up to 2 weeks. Prolonged flow leads to dehydration of the body.

Yersiniosis in rare cases appears on the skin with rash elements in the form of spots, small dots, more often they appear on the feet and hands. Usually this expression of the disease sign is called a symptom of "socks and gloves". Eruptions can be accompanied by peeling, burning of the skin.

In severe forms of the disease, there is a manifestation of general toxic syndrome, rash, sore throat, digestive disorders, enlargement of the liver, spleen, lymph nodes. Often the symptoms resemble acute appendicitis. When the joints are affected, their swelling, tenderness, and limited movements are noted.

The secondary focal form of yersiniosis is singled out separately, because it is a consequence of its other forms. The main signs of this form are expressed in the form of enterocolitis, polyarthritis, monoarthritis, affecting one of the major joints, Reiter's syndrome, erythema nodosum, myocarditis. Vegetative disorders (excessive sweating, marbling of the skin, pressure fluctuations) can be expressed quite sharply.

Laboratory tests are the main method that establishes iersiniosis. Diagnosis is based on the detection of a fragment of the genome by the PCR method of the main pathogen in feces or blood. Immunoenzymatic analysis helps to determine the presence of antibodies to yersiniosis. For bacteriological examination, the study material can be feces, urine, sputum, bile, cerebrospinal fluid, blood. Methods of instrumental diagnosis of the disease include endoscopic, X-ray examination of the ileum, which allows to detect follicular ileitis.

Treatment of the lungs and erased currents of yersiniosis in the absence of concomitant diseases can take place at home, you should only follow all the recommendations of an infectious disease doctor and follow a diet. With moderate and severe form, the patient should be treated only in a hospital.