Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis CDC1551 and H37Rv in rabbits evaluated by Lurie's pulmonary tubercle count method.
The virulence of the CDC1551 strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was compared to that of H37Rv in a rabbit inhalation model. While rabbits that inhaled the two strains produced equal numbers of grossly visible primary tubercles, CDC1551 tubercles were smaller and contained fewer bacilli than H37Rv tubercles. These findings suggest that a miniepidemic near the Kentucky-Tennessee border caused by CDC1551 was due not to increased virulence but to increased transmissibility.
Bishai
W R
WR
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Hygiene and Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Dannenberg
A M
AM
Parrish
N
N
Ruiz
R
R
Chen
P
P
Zook
B C
BC
Johnson
W
W
Boles
J W
JW
Pitt
M L
ML
D000818:Animals; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011817:Rabbits; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014774:Virulence