Animal experiments with Campylobacter coli using suckling pigs
Köhler, B.; Richter, U.; Mochmann, H.
Archiv für Experimentelle Veterinarmedizin 42(2): 238-253
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-9055 PMID: 3395182 Document Number: 314745
The intestines of conventionally kept piglets were experimentally colonized by three oral applications at 1-day intervals of 2.5x1010 - 6x1010 cfu of C. coli per animal and day. C. coli was excreted in the faeces for up to 17 days after infection. No clinical diseases were apparent. It is concluded that the unweaned piglet is a suitable animal model for C. coli experiments. Treatment with neomycin for 3 days at 120 mg/kg body weight per day or with erythromycin for 7 days at 30 mg/kg per day reduced the time of faecal excretion of C. coli to 7 or 8 days after infection, so that animals were negative from 1 or 2 days after the first treatment to the end of the experiment on the 18th day. Diarrhoea lasting 4-6 days was induced by neomycin treatment and was accompanied by an increase of faecal Clostridium perfringens type A concentration to 105-108 cfu/g.