Isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica and Related Species from Red Meat and Milk

A total of 150 samples, 50 each of beef, lamb and pork from 10 local retail stores in the Brisbane metropolitan area and 50 pasteurized and 150 raw bovine bulk milk tank samples obtained from Queensland United Foods (QUF), were examined for the presence of Yersinia spp. over 1 yr. Two isolation protocols were used to recover the organism with subsequent biochemical and serological identification. A total of 114 isolates, consisting of Y. enterocolitica (23,12,15,40), Y. intermedia (0,3,5,1), Y. frederiksenii (4,1,0,10) were obtained from beef, lamb, pork, and milk, respectively. No pasteurized milk samples were positive for the organism. None of the isolated strains was found to harbor the virulence plasmid as indicated by the crystal violet‐binding assay. Copyrigh