ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the distribution of Yersinia enterocolitica and its virulence factors in Nantong, Jiangsu.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Yersinia strains were isolated from livestock and poultry. Conventional PCR was used to detect the virulence factors of all strains and strain 0:8 was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis(PFGE).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The combined isolation rate of Yersinia enterocolitica from livestock and poultry was 31.06% and the gene distribution characters were: 39.57% of them were ail-, ystA- , ystB-, yadA- , virF-; 60.43% were ail- , ystA- , ystB + , yadA- , virF- respectively. The two reference strains from America and Denmark showed similar electrophoresis patterns but were significantly different with O:8 strains isolated from China while the serotypes of Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 and O:9 which were the main epidemic strains in China, were not found in this area.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitis O:3 and O:9 were not found in Nantong,Jiangsu province.</p>