TABLE 4.
Organ | Counts at the indicated time (h):
|
||
---|---|---|---|
12 | 84 | 180 | |
Blood | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lungs | 62 | 2 | 5 |
Liver | 11 | 12 | 7 |
Spleen | 25 | 1 | 1 |
Kidneys | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Mesenteric lymph nodes | 37 | 1 | 1 |
Stomach | 2.4 × 105 | 41 | 33 |
Duodenum | 3.2 × 105 | 105 | 92 |
Jejunum | 2.7 × 105 | 524 | 39 |
Ileum | 4.2 × 104 | 312 | 18 |
Cecum | 2.5 × 106 | 5.9 × 103 | 371 |
Colon | 1.9 × 106 | 6.6 × 103 | 251 |
Groups of four mice (6 weeks old, female BALB/c) were inoculated by intragastric gavage with purified spore suspensions (0.2 ml; 1.83 × 108/ml). Organs were dissected, homogenized, and heat treated, and bacterial spore counts were determined as described in Materials and Methods. As controls, we inoculated groups of four mice with PBS (data not shown).