Thiamin Deficiency and Susceptibility of Rats and Mice to Infection with Salmonella typhi murium.

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Abstract
One group of rats was fed a thiamin deficient diet while a 2d group was pair-fed an adequate diet and a 3d group was fed an adequate diet ad libitum. All groups were infected with Salmonella typhi-murium after 5 weeks on the diets. 3 days later cultures were made from the liver, spleen and mesenteric glands of the animals. Both the thiamin-deficient group and the pair-fed rats showed much less resistance to the Salmonella infection, as demonstrated by the presence of the organisms in their organs. The indication is that the decrease of resistance is due to inanition rather than specific thiamin deficiency. In a similar expt. conducted with mice, however, it is shown that there is a decrease in resistance to the infection due exclusively to the thiamin deficiency.