Merja Rantala
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Merja Rantala has a total of 6 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Annamari Heikinheimo
Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
2 shared publications - Maria Fredriksson-Ahomaa
Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
2 shared publications - Riikka Laukkanen-Ninios
Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
2 shared publications - Thomas Grönthal
Animal Health Diagnostic Unit, Finnish Food Authority, Mustialankatu 3, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
2 shared publications - Venla Johansson
Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
2 shared publications - Viivi Heljanko
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2 shared publications
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Enteropathogenic Yersinia with Public Health Relevance Found in Dogs and Cats in Finland
Yersiniosis is a common zoonotic enteric disease among humans, which has been linked to pigs and contaminated food, especially pork. The epidemiology of yersiniosis is still obscure, and studies on yersiniosis in pets are very scarce. In this study, we performed pheno- and genotypic characterisation of 50 Yersinia strains isolated from pets in Finland between 2012 and 2023. Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST135, the most common type in human yersiniosis, was also the most common type (68%) found in clinical faecal samples in our study. Also, human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9/ST139 and Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1/ST9 and O:1/ST42 strains carrying all essential pathogenic genes were identified. Three Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST9 strains were multi-drug-resistant and two of them were highly related, showing one allelic difference (AD) with core genome multi-locus sequence typing. Non-pathogenic, genotypically highly diverse Y. enterocolitica 1A strains, showing more than 1000 ADs and missing the essential virulence genes, were also recognised in dogs and cats. Our study demonstrates that pets can excrete human pathogenic Yersinia in their faeces and may serve as an infection source for human yersiniosis, especially in families with small children in close contact with their pets.
Open AccessEnteropathogenic Yersinia with Public Health Relevance Found in Dogs and Cats in Finland
Yersiniosis is a common zoonotic enteric disease among humans, which has been linked to pigs and contaminated food, especially pork. The epidemiology of yersiniosis is still obscure, and studies on yersiniosis in pets are very scarce. In this study, we performed pheno- and genotypic characterisation of 50 Yersinia strains isolated from pets in Finland between 2012 and 2023. Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST135, the most common type in human yersiniosis, was also the most common type (68%) found in clinical faecal samples in our study. Also, human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9/ST139 and Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1/ST9 and O:1/ST42 strains carrying all essential pathogenic genes were identified. Three Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST9 strains were multi-drug-resistant and two of them were highly related, showing one allelic difference (AD) with core genome multi-locus sequence typing. Non-pathogenic, genotypically highly diverse Y. enterocolitica 1A strains, showing more than 1000 ADs and missing the essential virulence genes, were also recognised in dogs and cats. Our study demonstrates that pets can excrete human pathogenic Yersinia in their faeces and may serve as an infection source for human yersiniosis, especially in families with small children in close contact with their pets.
- Open Access
- 27 December 2023
- Published by MDPI AG in Preprints.org
Enteropathogenic Yersinia with Public Health Relevance Found in Dogs and Cats in Finland
Yersiniosis is a common zoonotic enteral disease among humans, which has been linked to pigs and contaminated food, especially pork. Studies on yersiniosis in pets are very scarce. In this study, we performed pheno- and genotypic characterization of 50 Yersinia strains isolated from pets in Finland between 2012 and 2023. Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST135, the most common type in human yersiniosis, was also the most common Y. enterocolitica type (68%) found in clinical faecal samples in our study. Also, human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9/ST139 and Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1/ST9 and O:1/ST42 strains carrying all essential pathogenic genes were identified. Three Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST9 strains were multi-drug resistant and two of them were highly related showing one allelic difference (AD) with core-genome multi-locus sequence typing. Non-pathogenic, genotypically highly diverse Y. enterocolitica 1A strains, showing more than 1000 ADs and missing the essential virulence genes, were also recognized in dogs and cats. Our study demonstrates that pets can excrete human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis in their faeces and may serve as an infection source for human yersiniosis, especially in families with small children in close contact with their pets.
- 27 December 2023
- Published by MDPI AG in Preprints.org
Open AccessEnteropathogenic Yersinia with Public Health Relevance Found in Dogs and Cats in Finland
Yersiniosis is a common zoonotic enteral disease among humans, which has been linked to pigs and contaminated food, especially pork. Studies on yersiniosis in pets are very scarce. In this study, we performed pheno- and genotypic characterization of 50 Yersinia strains isolated from pets in Finland between 2012 and 2023. Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST135, the most common type in human yersiniosis, was also the most common Y. enterocolitica type (68%) found in clinical faecal samples in our study. Also, human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica 2/O:9/ST139 and Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1/ST9 and O:1/ST42 strains carrying all essential pathogenic genes were identified. Three Y. enterocolitica 4/O:3/ST9 strains were multi-drug resistant and two of them were highly related showing one allelic difference (AD) with core-genome multi-locus sequence typing. Non-pathogenic, genotypically highly diverse Y. enterocolitica 1A strains, showing more than 1000 ADs and missing the essential virulence genes, were also recognized in dogs and cats. Our study demonstrates that pets can excrete human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis in their faeces and may serve as an infection source for human yersiniosis, especially in families with small children in close contact with their pets.