Pathogenesis of Infection with 'Rickettsia rickettsii' in the Dog: A Disease Model for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

摘要

Dogs inoculated with Rickettsia rickettsii developed a clinical syndrome ranging in severity from a mild febrile exanthema to death within six days after inoculation. The severity of the disease appeared to be dose-related, and the signs were comparable to R. rickettsii infection in humans on a clinical and hematological basis. Dogs were rickettsemic for 10 to 14 days after infection. Infected dogs responded serologically as determined by indirect fluorescent antibody methods. The monocyte culture technique was successfully used for the detection of rickettsemia, and the results compared favorably with those obtained by the guinea pig inoculation method of isolation.