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Experimental Infection of the Cotton Rat Sigmodon hispidus with Rickettsia rickettsii¹

Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
Department of Rickettsial Diseases, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20012

ABSTRACT

Studies of experimental infection of the cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, with the virulent Sheila Smith (R type) and the avirulent Si 7 (U type) strains of Rickettsia rickettsii were undertaken to evaluate the role of this native wild mammal in the ecology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The Sheila Smith strain, which was highly lethal for guinea pigs, was nonpathogenic for cotton rats. Serial passage of the R-type strain in the cotton rat did not alter the virulence of the agent for cotton rats or guinea pigs. The U-type strain, which was originally recovered from a wild cotton rat, could not be maintained beyond the first passage in this animal host. Rickettsemia in the cotton rat occurred over a 24-hr period after inoculation of the virulent strain but was detected only 1 hr after inoculation of the avirulent strain. The short period of rickettsemia suggests that the cotton rat probably is not an important reservoir of R. rickettsii. Specific complement-fixing antibodies developed rapidly after infection with either strain, but the antibodies evoked by the R strain attained higher titers and persisted longer. Cotton rats previously infected with the Sheila Smith strain developed rickettsemia after reinfection with the same strain, even though relatively high levels of antibody were still present.

² Present address: Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.

¹ Part of this work is taken from a thesis presented by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.S. degree, University of Maryland.