Abstract
Earlier studies showed that the minimum infective dose (greater than 10(6) organisms) of a virulent strain of Fusobacterium necrophorum could be greatly reduced by suspending the fusobacteria in sub-lethal doses of cultures of other bacteria such as Escherichia coli before inoculating mice subcutaneously. In the present study the infective dose of the same strain of F. necrophorum was reduced by a factor of greater than 10(3) by suspending the fusobacteria in sub-lethal doses of 5% homogenate of gaur or wallaby faeces. Sterile faecal filtrate had no such effect. The sites of low grade infection produced by the prior subcutaneous injection of E. coli culture or gaur faecal suspension were susceptible to superinfection by doses of F. necrophorum far below those required to infect normal tissue. This work helps to explain the production of necrobacillosis by the faecal contamination of small wounds. It proved impossible, however, to produce necrobacillosis in mice by the subcutaneous injection of faecal suspensions from 33 farm cattle. This suggests that the proportion of cattle with virulent F. necrophorum in their faeces is low.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beerens H., Fievez L., Wattre P. Observations concernant 7 souches appartenant aux espèces Sphaerophorus necrophorus, Sphaerophorus funduliformis Sphaerophorus pseudonecrophorus. Ann Inst Pasteur (Paris) 1971 Jul;121(1):37–41. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Berg J. N., Scanlan C. M. Studies of Fusobacterium necrophorum from bovine hepatic abscesses: biotypes, quantitation, virulence, and antibiotic susceptibility. Am J Vet Res. 1982 Sep;43(9):1580–1586. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Deacon A. G., Duerden B. I., Holbrook W. P. Gas-lipuid chromatographic analysis of metabolic products in the identification of bacteroidaceae of clinical interest. J Med Microbiol. 1978 May;11(2):81–99. doi: 10.1099/00222615-11-2-81. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shinjo T., Miyazato S., Kaneuchi C., Mitsuoka T. Physiological and biochemical characteristics of Fusobacterium necrophorum biovar A and biovar B strains and their deoxyribonucleic acid homology. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi. 1981 Apr;43(2):233–241. doi: 10.1292/jvms1939.43.233. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith G. R., Oliphant J. C., Parsons R. The pathogenic properties of Fusobacterium and Bacteroides species from wallabies and other sources. J Hyg (Lond) 1984 Apr;92(2):165–175. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400064184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith G. R., Till D., Wallace L. M., Noakes D. E. Enhancement of the infectivity of Fusobacterium necrophorum by other bacteria. Epidemiol Infect. 1989 Jun;102(3):447–458. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800030168. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith G. R., Turner A., Cinderey R. Susceptibility of wallabies to Fusobacterium necrophorum. Vet Rec. 1986 Jun 21;118(25):691–693. doi: 10.1136/vr.118.25.691. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]