The decisive period in the primary infection of muscle by Escherichia coli.

  • 1 February 1973
    • journal article
    • Vol. 54  (1) , 99-109
Abstract
Escherichia coli superinfected with a non-replicating phage was used to study the course of infection in the adductor muscle of mice in terms of the content of viable bacilli and the in vivo multiplication rate. The infection was characterized by a steady decrease of bacterial numbers to 5% of the inoculum within 4 hours without any compensating multiplication. Within the next 3 hours there was slight multiplication (2 generation or less) followed by a slow decrease of numbers to nil in 72 hours. In terms of the viable count, the infection was temporarily enhanced between three- and eight-fold when the following modifiers were given at the time of inoculation: local adrenaline, liquoid and ferric iron, systemic malonate and ferric iron, and hypovolaemic shock. Within 1-2 hours the inoculum was preserved from the bactericidal action of the muscle and multiplied to a limited extent (up to 3 generations). Given 2 hours after the inoculation, all the modifiers enhanced infection, but not when given 4 hours afterwards.