Abstract
Most reported experimental studies concerning the effect of splenectomy in animals have shown enhanced mortality from pneumococci injected either intravenously or intraperitoneally. We have developed a laboratory model in which mice are exposed to type III Streptococcus pneumoniae via an aerosolized atmosphere, thus closely approximating the route of human infection with this organism. Ninety-one male Swiss mice (mean weight 26 g) were divided into three approximately equal groups of control, sham-operated, and splenectomized animals. Two weeks later they were exposed for 30 min in individualized compartments within a confined chamber to an aerosolized atmosphere producing a uniform challenge of 5.9 X 10(9) colony-forming units per ml of pneumococci. A statistically significant increase (P less than 0.01) in mortality was demonstrated in the splenectomized group over the pooled sham-operated and control groups. The animal model used in these investigations can be applied to the study of infections acquired by the respiratory route in numerous experimental designs.
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