All issues > Volume 33(3); 1990

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1990;33(3):341-350. Published online March 31, 1990.

An Outbreak of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infection.

Hong Jong Joo¹, Keun Hee Chung¹, Yoo Mee Kim¹, Soon Gi Kim¹, Moon Soo Park¹, Jin Keun Chang¹, Sung Woo Shin¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Han II Hospital, Seoul Korea

Received: September 30, 1989;  Accepted: September 30, 1989.

Abstract

We experienced one outbreak of Yersinia pseudtuberculosis infection that had not been reported in our country. In May, 1988, an outbreak of acute infection with symptoms suggestive of Yersinia pseudotuber- culosis infection occurred among a middle school students in No-Won-Gu, Seoul. Two hundreds and fifteen students went on a picnic at the Mt. Surak in No-Won-Gu on 13th May, 1988. Fifty of 95 students who drank water from one mountain spring developed symptoms and signs. Main symptoms and signs were fever (94%), abdominal pain (76%), headache (72%), diarrhea (62%), nausea or vomiting (44%), skin rash (40%), arthralgia (34%), strawberry tongue (22%), desquamation (20%), cough (16%), conjunctival injection (8%) and acute renal failure (2%) in one case. Titer of agglutinating antibody against Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was checked in two patients. The result showed 1:20 and 1:160 in one patienfs paired serum, and 1:40 in the other. Serotype was lb in both. Though we couldn’t isolate Yersinia pseudotuberculosis from the mountain water, we suspected that mountin water as the source of infection on the base of epidemiological survey.

Keywords :Outbreak, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis