Newborn snakes were injected with 10(2)-10(4) live or heated Mycobacterium leprae. Death occurred in 5-6 weeks. On autopsy, the snakes injected with live microorganisms showed pathological changes and numerous acid-fast bacteria were found in some organs. Material was also transferred from an experimentally infected snake to a group of normal newborn snakes, causing their death in 3 weeks. Extracts in phosphate-buffered saline, prepared from the tissues of infected snakes, were found to react with anti-M. leprae and anti-M. lepraemurium rabbit antisera. No immunodiffusion reactions were elicited by extracts from the organs of control snakes.
BT - Bulletin of the World Health Organization C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4616779?dopt=Abstract DA - 1974 IS - 5 J2 - Bull. World Health Organ. LA - eng N2 -Newborn snakes were injected with 10(2)-10(4) live or heated Mycobacterium leprae. Death occurred in 5-6 weeks. On autopsy, the snakes injected with live microorganisms showed pathological changes and numerous acid-fast bacteria were found in some organs. Material was also transferred from an experimentally infected snake to a group of normal newborn snakes, causing their death in 3 weeks. Extracts in phosphate-buffered saline, prepared from the tissues of infected snakes, were found to react with anti-M. leprae and anti-M. lepraemurium rabbit antisera. No immunodiffusion reactions were elicited by extracts from the organs of control snakes.
PY - 1974 SP - 473 EP - 4 T2 - Bulletin of the World Health Organization TI - Pathobiological relationships between Mycobacterium leprae and its primitive host. VL - 50 SN - 0042-9686 ER -