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SERONEGATIVE ARTHRITIS ASSOCIATED WITH SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF YERSINIA INFECTION IN AUSTRALIA
Author(s) -
WAKEFIELD D.,
STAHLBERG T.,
FRESTON J.,
BUCKLEY R.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1989.tb00274.x
Subject(s) - yersinia enterocolitica , yersinia , serology , medicine , reactive arthritis , yersinia infections , hla b27 , ankylosing spondylitis , psoriatic arthritis , serotype , arthritis , antibody , immunology , antigen , enterobacteriaceae , human leukocyte antigen , escherichia coli , bacteria , biology , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Infection due to yersinia enterocolitica is a common antecedent illness in patients with reactive arthritis in Scandinavia, but appears to be less frequent in other countries. In order to examine the frequency of yersinia infection in patients with seronegative arthritis in Australia we examined 22 patients, 15 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and seven with Reiter's syndrome (RS). A sensitive ELISA assay was used to detect serum antibodies to the most common serotypes. Six patients (29%) had positive yersinia serology, all were HLA B27 and four had a history of diarrhea preceding the onset of their disease. Four patients with positive yersinia serology had AS and two had RS. Antibodies were directed against Y. enterocolitica biotype 0:3 in three cases, Y. enterocolitica 0:9 in two cases and Y. enterocolitica 0:8 in one subject. Twenty‐nine control subjects (13 HLA B27) had no serum antibodies to yersinia. The results of this study indicate that preceding yersinia infection occurs in a significant ( p < 0.05; compared to controls) proportion of patients with HLA B27 related seronegative arthropathies.