Abstract
We reported 1 on the production of experimental bronchomoniliasis in rabbits following intratracheal administration of living cultures of pathogenic Monilia tropicalis. It was shown that the development of the disease was dependent upon pre-existing damage brought about by repeated intravenous injections of small doses of chaulmoogra oil. We also succeeded in producing regular sensitization of guinea pigs with cultures of various Mongolia. This led us to assume that perhaps sensitization of rabbits with Mongolia cultures may also result in an increased susceptibility of these animals to their subsequent inoculation.
The present experiment is an attempt to test this assumption. Five normal rabbits were anesthetized with ether and 0.5 cc. of a thick suspension containing 1/5 of a 2 or 15 day agar culture of Monilia tropicalis was injected into the trachea of the animals. Seven days later a similar injection of the same Monilia was repeated. For the next 2 weeks the animals showed no change in their general state. At the end of this time all animals were killed and their lungs examined; the autopsy findings indicated that those inoculated either with 2 or 15 day culture showed no detectable lesions in their lungs. Cultures made from the lungs and various parts of the large bronchi showed no growth of the Monilia.
A second group of 5 normal rabbits received intratracheal injection of 1 cc. of anti-monilia serum followed by 2 injections of a living culture of the Monilia at 7-day intervals. Two weeks later the animals were killed and examined. The result of this experiment was essentially negative, except for one rabbit injected with 15-day culture. This animal showed at the upper part of the right lung a single small, firm nodule containing a small amount of caseous white material from which a few colonies of Monilia tropicalis were cultivated.
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