Impaired clearance of Enterococcus faecium peritonitis during casein-induced acute-phase response. Mean (± SEM) E. faecium in (a) peritoneal lavage fluid (PLF), (b) blood, (c) liver, (d) lungs 2 and 48 hr after inoculation with 108 colony-forming units (CFU) E. faecium (T = 0). Mice were infected intraperitoneally 24 hr after subcutaneous casein (solid bars) or NaHCO3 (open bars) injection; n = 8 per group at each time-point *P< 0·05, **P< 0·01, ***P< 0·001 compared to NaHCO3-injected mice.