Yersiniae in the soil of an infected wapiti range

Yersinia enterocolitica was isolated from 10 of 121 soil samples from an area inhabitated by infected wapiti (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) in northwest California. Significantly (p less than 0.05) more soil samples from a forest habitat were infected, compared to soil samples from prairie habitats. Soil was found infected with yersiniae only on dates for which rainfall in excess of 17 mm had occurred during the previous 7 days.