Background: Yersinia enterocolitica is an aero-anaerobic Gram-negative coccobacilli of the Enterobacteriaceae family, rarely reported in osteoarticular infection.
Case presentation: This report case described a rare septic osteoarticular infection on device due to Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1B. A purulent fistula appeared after osteosynthesis with plate performed abroad 27 days prior to the presentation for a distal femoral fracture. The treatment consisted of surgical irrigation and washing of the femoral plate and a bitherapy by levoflaxacine and ceftriaxone during 3 months.
Conclusion: Y. enterocolitica biotype 1B is extremely rare in France. Moreover, the strain implicated in this european case is extremely close from the USA reference strain (with only 2 SNP difference) described in a septicemia in Ohio. The extreme proximity of the strains underlines the need for a sustained surveillance of the spread of this pathogen in France.
Keywords: Biotype 1B; Osteoarticular infection; Prosthetic device; Yersinia enterocolitica.