Septicemia due to Yersinia enterocolitica.

Despite the increasing number of reports of Yersinia enterocolitica infection in humans, septicemia with this organism has remained a rare complication. A 73-year-old woman presented with fever, jaundice, hepatomegaly and cellulitis. Microorganisms isolated from both skin lesion and blood were biochemically and serologically identified as Yersinia enterocolitica, biotype 4, serotype 3 and lysotype 9b. High agglutinating titres against this organism were demonstrated in the patient's serum. Complete recovery followed a course of gentamicin sulfate. A household pet was considered, but not proved, to be the source of this infection.