Oral challenge with Aeromonas in protein-malnourished mice.
The lack of an animal model for Aeromonas-associated diarrhoea has hindered progress toward understanding the pathogenesis of this potentially important enteric infection. Protein-malnourished mice were challenged orally with Aeromonas strains to determine if diminished levels of resistance would allow the induction of a diarrhoeal response. The 15 Aeromonas spp. faecal isolates used for challenge included 7 A. caviae, 4 A. hydrophila, 1 A. sobria bv. sobria, and 1 A. sobria bv. veronii from patients with diarrhoea, and 2 A. caviae from healthy volunteers. All had at least 1 known virulence marker, with the exception of 1 strain. Mice on the protein deficient diet had lost an average of 23% of their initial body weight at the time of challenge. Although mice consumed 10(8) cfu per day for a minimum of 4 days, none became ill due to Aeromonas spp. ingestion. Aeromonas spp. were isolated from 75% of faecal cultures obtained 7 days after initial challenge, indicating bowel colonization had occurred.
U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia.
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G
Pazzaglia
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I
Winoto
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G
Jennings
D000333:Aeromonas / Q000472:pathogenicity; D000818:Animals; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000276:immunology*; D014774:Virulence