Environmental effects on experimental aerogenic tuberculosis in BCG-immunized and non-immunized guinea pigs.

Abstract

SummaryBCG immunization confers immunity to guinea pigs under cold or high-altitude stress. Cold-exposed BCG-immunized animals had lower levels of immunity than controls, whereas those at high altitude were not significantly different from controls. Non-immunized animals at high altitude may be less susceptible to tuberculosis than those kept at −4°C. Moving boundary electrophoresis of serum samples showed an increase in the α1-globulin of all animals 28 days post infection, and the α1-globulin was greater in non-immunized than in immunized animals.