Biology of clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with varying levels of transmission.

ABSTRACT: Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli from one individual to another is the basis of the disease process. While considerable emphasis has been placed on the role of host mechanisms of resistance in establishing or preventing new infection, far less has been expended on understanding possible factors operative at the bacterial level. In this study we established a panel of clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis strains obtained from the Western Cape region of South Africa, each of which had been carefully tracked in terms of their degree of transmission in the community. Each of the panel were used to infect guinea pigs with 15-20 bacilli by aerosol exposure and the course of the infection then determined. Strains with different degrees of transmission could not be distinguished

SUBMITTER: Shanley CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5884417 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature