Bacteriologic Studies on Wasting Disease¹ Induced by Neonatal Thymectomy Free

Neonatal Balb/c mice thymectomized at 12 to 24 hours of age and treated with two injections of rabbit anti-mouse thymocyte serum (RAMTS) developed a more severe wasting disease with a more rapid onset than did their thymectomized counterparts. Neonatal Balb/c mice that received only RAMTS failed to demonstrate symptoms of wasting disease.

The liver, lungs, spleen and blood of thymectomized Balb/c neonatal mice treated with RAMTS were found to be infected with several species of microorganisms presumed to originate from the normal flora of the gut. In the early onset of infection, a nonpathogenic species of Erysipelothrix was the predominant organism cultured from the tissues. As time progressed, mixed infections consisting of Streptococcus faecalis, Corynebacterium species, Bacillus species and Proteus mirabilis were commonly found in the tissues and organs of RAMTS-treated thymectomized mice. Citrobacter species and S. faecalis were the predominant microorganisms isolated from mice that showed terminal wasting disease.