Three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated image of a number of oblong-shaped, Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imagery. Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative bacillus-shaped bacterium, belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. Yersinia enterocolitica infection causes the disease yersiniosis, which is an animal-borne disease occurring in humans, as well as in a wide array of animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and birds. Many of these animals recover from the disease and become carriers; these are potential sources of contagion despite showing no signs of disease. Yersinia enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year. Children are infected more often than adults, and the infection is more common in the winter.