Abstract
Summary
Abortion in rabbits consistently could be produced following ocular instillation of Listeria monocytogenes at the end of 2 weeks gestation, indicating that the resulting conjunctivitis is not a local reaction as previously supposed. When L. monocytogenes was instilled 4 days or less before termination of pregnancy, young either were stillborn or died with listeric septicemia within the 1st postnatal week. Two rabbits rebred one week after delivering full term litters which died with listeric septicemia aborted spontaneously during the 3rd week of gestation and L. monocytogenes was isolated from all the aborted fetuses and membranes. Does rebred 17 days or more after abortion usually gave birth to normal full term litters. Two of 3 does re-exposed during the 2nd gestation died. Oblique lighting and a scanning microscope provided an excellent technic for identifying colonies of L. monocytogenes in cultures made directly from grossly contaminated material.
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