A strain of Yersinia enterocolitica serogroup O:3 isolated from a skin swab of a healthy pig slaughtered for human consumption at Rabat municipal abattoir was studied for biochemical, virulence and antibiogram characteristics. The isolate was biotype 4 and showed positive reactions in calcium dependency, Congo-red absorption and agglutination test but lacked pyrazinamidase activity and was unable to hydrolyse esculin. The isolate is apparently pathogenic. It was sensitive to amikacin, chloramphenicol, colistin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, neomycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, tobramycin, trimethoprim, and fosfamycin, but highly resistant to ampicillin, carbenicillin, cefamandole, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, cephalothin, erythromycin, mezlocillin, penicillin G, sulfadiazin, and cloxacillin. This is considered the first documented isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica serogroup O:3 in Morocco.
