Experimental Yersinia enterocolitica enteritis in rabbits.
Young rabbits weighing 500 to 800 g were inoculated orogastrically with clinical isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica (serotype O:3; enterotoxigenic; HeLa cell invasive) at a dose of 1.4 X 10(10) bacteria suspended in 10% sodium bicarbonate solution. Diarrhea developed in 41 (87%) of 47 rabbits, with a mean +/- standard deviation onset at 5.4 +/- 2.4 days. The attack rate and onset of diarrhea were correlated with inoculum size. The 50% infectious dose was 2.9 X 10(8) bacteria. Bacterial colonization occurred in almost all rabbits, regardless of inoculum size. Seroconversion was demonstrated in 30 (71%) of 42 rabbits with or without diarrhea. Histopathological alterations were present in the jejuna, ilea, and colons of rabbits with diarrhea; the most pronounced changes were generally noted in the ilea. Crypt abscesses localized at the depth of the intestinal glands were observed consistently and were composed of a bacterial nidus admixed with and enveloped by inflammatory cells comprised of eosinophils, neutrophils, and mononuclear cells. Rabbits inoculated with a raw fish isolate of Y. enterocolitica (serotype O:6,30; non-enterotoxigenic; HeLa cell noninvasive) did not exhibit infection clinically, bacteriologically, or pathologically.
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000032:analysis; D007249:Inflammation; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D015007:Yersinia / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins