Adult Rabbit Model for Campylobacter Enteritis

摘要

Campylobacter fetus spp. jejuni (C jejuni) is a major cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. Human infections usually are self-limited, lasting 3-5 days beyond an incubation period of 2-7 days. Infection can result in profuse watery diarrhea or a dysentery like syndrome with stools containing mucus, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and blood. With the use of the removable intestinal tie-adult rabbit diarrhea (RITARD) procedure, 1-kg female New Zealand white rabbits are inoculated with one of two strains of C jejuni or with uninfected media (sham controls). Rabbits (61.8%) that received C jejuni had mucous diarrhea lasting 1-6 days, and 85% of these died. All controls remained clinically normal throughout the 2-week observation period. The RITARD procedure is a surgical technique which provides a valuable model for studying the pathophysiologic mechanisms of Campylobacter enteritis. In addition, this model is applicable to investigations of host immune responses because the rabbit is immunologically mature and well characterized. No other animal model described to date combines simplicity, similarity to human infection, and potential for studying the immune response to this pathogen. Reprints. (aw)