Yersinia enterocoliticabelongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae,which is known to be highly heterogenic andis divided into several biotypes and serotypes. Since the 1960s, this bacterium has increasingly been identified as an important foodborne pathogen. In this study, virulence factors such as yadA, inv, ail, ystAandvirF of 65 strains isolated from chicken meat samples were analysed by the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.Of 65 isolates of Y.enterocolitica. biotyping revealed biotypes 1A (35.38%), 1B(26.15%), 2 (6.15%), 3 (9.23%), 4 (6.15%) and unclassified (16.94%). Polymerase chain reaction tests showed that the prevalence of virulent genes was 44.74% for yadA, 100%forinv, 50% for ail, 51.85% for ystAand35.18%forvirF. This study highlighted the importance of chicken meat as a potential source of Y. enterocolitica infection in Iran.
