Mode of transmission and histology of M. leprae infection in nude mice

Athymic (nude) mice were experimentally infected with Mycobacterium leprae via the alimentary and respiratory tracts and through the skin. Animals were allowed to inhale aerosols of M. leprae or had bacilli instilled into the nostrils or directly into the lungs. Others were fed M. leprae by gastric...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of experimental pathology Vol. 71; no. 5; pp. 689 - 700
Main Authors McDermott-Lancaster, R D, McDougall, A C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.10.1990
Subjects
Animals
Feces - microbiology
Leprosy - pathology
Leprosy - transmission
Lung - pathology
Mice
Mice, Nude
Skin - pathology
Tongue - pathology
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Summary:Athymic (nude) mice were experimentally infected with Mycobacterium leprae via the alimentary and respiratory tracts and through the skin. Animals were allowed to inhale aerosols of M. leprae or had bacilli instilled into the nostrils or directly into the lungs. Others were fed M. leprae by gastric tube or had bacilli placed on the tongue. Attempts were also made to transmit M. leprae from infected footpads by Aedes aegyptii mosquitoes. The most successful infections resulted from nasal instillations and from bacilli inoculated onto the tongue surface: in these cases heavy systemic infections occurred. M. leprae was also shown to survive passage through the alimentary tract and bacilli recovered from the faeces were capable of causing infection in recipient nude mice. The possible epidemiological significance of these findings for the transmission of leprosy in man is discussed.
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ISSN:0959-9673
1365-2613