Figure 1. Effect of antibiotic therapy on bacterial burden in a thigh muscle abscess model.

Bioluminescent S. aureus Xen29 (3.2×10⁸ cfu) was injected into the left thigh muscle of mice, which were treated with either 0.9% NaCl (n = 6), vancomycin (n = 5), or linezolid (n = 5). A) Luciferase expression in mice injected with S. aureus Xen 29 resulted in the emission of bioluminescence at the site of infection. Mean (± SEM) bioluminescence values are shown at the indicated time points. B) Infected thigh muscles were harvested on day 7 post-infection and the number of colony-forming units was counted after homogenization and plating. The cfu values for each infected muscle, and the median number for each group, are shown. Statistically significant differences between the groups are indicated by asterisks (**P<0.01).