FATE OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS IN MOUSE TISSUES AS DETERMINED BY THE MICROBIAL ENUMERATION TECHNIQUE

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Abstract
Observations are presented on the behavior of populations of tubercle bacilli in the tissues of mice during the administration of antimicrobial drugs. The behavior of the populations during therapy with any particular drug was different depending upon whether the tubercle bacilli were subsisting in the lung or in the spleen. Moreover, the pattern of microbial behavior was distinctive and predictable for each drug studied. Changes in the size of the populations of tubercle bacilli in the tissues appeared to be a more sensitive reflection of drug influence than microscopic study of the number and character of the tuberculous lesions. Nevertheless, in untreated animals, pulmonary lesions evolved and progressed steadily to a fatal outcome despite the fact that the populations of tubercle bacilli had stabilized at a relatively high census early in the course of therapy.