The Susceptibility of the Rodents,Gerbillus gerbillus and Gerbillus pyramidum,to Experimental Typhus Infection

Abstract

Summary

G. gerbillus and G. pyramidum, two rodents which abound in Egypt, succumb to large doses of either murine or louse-borne typhus rickettsiæ by the intranasal, intravenous, or intraperitoneal routes. Protective antibodies in the sera of persons who have recovered from typhus fever and in the sera of persons who have been vaccinated against typhus fever have been demonstrated in tests with the species G. gerbillus. Both species were useful in various types of experiments in which survival or death was the end point. Neither species has yet been found to be infected with typhus under natural conditions. Specific complement-fixing antibodies were demonstrated in the sera of both species after inoculation with murine or louse-borne typhus. G. gerbillus was found to be slightly less susceptible to fatal infection than the Eastern cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus hispidus.