The course of yersiniosis in infants: a review of the literature and clinical case

Due to the polymorphism of clinical manifestations, yersiniosis is a diagnostically complex infectious disease. The course of the disease in infants occupies a special place, as the limited amount of literature data and, as a result, insufficient vigilance on the part of specialists lead to a delay in diagnosis.

The aim of this study is to summarise current knowledge on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, approaches to diagnosis and treatment of yersiniosis in infants, as well as to present our own clinical observations.

Materials and methods: We analysed the medical records of a nine-month-old child who was hospitalised in a paediatric multidisciplinary hospital with an intestinal form of yersiniosis, which manifested itself with pronounced gastrointestinal and intoxication symptoms, as well as the presence of exanthema, but without involvement of the joints, hepatobiliary system, or mesenteric lymph nodes. Current domestic and foreign scientific medical literature on yersiniosis infection in children was studied using search engines and databases such as eLibrary, PubMed, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, and Scopus.

Conclusion. In infants with acute intestinal infection accompanied by exanthema, yersiniosis should be included in the differential diagnosis, which in this age group usually manifests itself as a combination of intoxication and gastrointestinal syndromes with prolonged vomiting and diarrhoea, often mixed with blood, and characteristic punctate, maculopapular or haemorrhagic rash.

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