Abstract

Yersinia enterocolitica is one of the pathogens of the intestine, which is transmitted to humans through water and food materials, especially contaminated meats and dairy products. The infected meats have no apparent symptoms of putrefaction and eating of such meats in raw or undercooked forms can lead to gastroenteritis, dysentery, mesenteric lymphadenitis, or even death. The aim of this research is to survey the frequency of Y. enterocolitica in different types of broiler meats and compare their ratio of infection in Tabriz City. To carry out this study, 120 samples of broiler meats were collected by random sampling. The samples were divided into groups corresponding to the parameters of packaging, no packaging, variety of preservation, and storing time. All of the samples were carried to the laboratory aseptically in cold boxes and the required microbiological tests (culture, staining, and biochemical tests) were performed. 15.8% of all of the studied broiler meats were contaminated with Y. enterocolitica. The analysis of results with fisher exact and chi- square tests showed that there was no meaningful diversity among the all the studied samples groups. A considerable quantity of broiler meats was contaminated with this bacterium without any symptoms of infection. If meat products are not cooked well, the preservation of such food materials in refrigerator provides an opportunity for their proliferation; regarding the absence of any symptoms, eating of such foods can cause gastroenteritis and other digestive disorders in consumers.

Key words: Yersinia enterocolitica, broiler meats, contamination, Tabriz.