06/17/25 Public Health Education Topic: Yersinia
- Health Department
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Per CDC
Key points
Yersinia are bacteria (germs) that can make you sick.
Infection with Yersinia is often linked to eating raw or undercooked pork.
Symptoms depend on the age of the person with the infection.
Two kinds of Yersinia can cause diarrhea. They are:
Yersinia enterocolitica
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
The illness these kinds of Yersinia can cause is called yersiniosis.
Causes
People can get infected after swallowing Yersinia. Children are more likely to get Yersinia infection than adults.
Common causes of infection
Contaminated food, especially raw or undercooked pork
Contact with a person who has prepared a pork product, such as chitlins
Less common causes of infection
Drinking contaminated milk or untreated water
Contact with animals, their environments, or their poop
Contact with another person (for example, by not washing hands thoroughly after changing the diaper of a child with an infection)
Symptoms
Symptoms depend on the age of the person with Yersinia infection.
Symptoms in young children
Fever
Pain in the abdomen (belly area)
Diarrhea that can be bloody
Symptoms in older children and adults
Fever
Pain on the right side of the abdomen
Sore throat also can occur, particularly in children.
Note: The pain might be confused with an inflamed or infected appendix (appendicitis).
To learn more visit: About Yersinia Infection | Yersinia Infection | CDC
