Aging and the response to Salmonella infection.
We investigated the effect of age on the ability of Fischer 344 rats to mount a febrile response and contain infection due to Salmonella typhimurium. Elderly (22-23 month), middle-aged (12-13 month) and young (2-3 month) rats were inoculated intraperitoneally with 1.5 X 10(6) organisms and the febrile response and liver and spleen bacterial counts were followed for 13 days. The elderly had a more sluggish febrile response and did not achieve as great a maximum temperature elevation as the young and middle-aged rats. Except for days 1 and 5, bacterial counts in liver and spleen were greater in the elderly rats than in young and middle-aged rats.
Bradley
S F
SF
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
Kauffman
C A
CA
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005334:Fever / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000254:growth & development; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology