Studies on an Acid-Fast Bacterium Frequently Present in Tonsillar Tissue of Swine

Abstract

An acid-fast organism found in 25.5% of 94 tonsils from 94 swine is descr. It produces no recognizable disease in chickens, mice or calves, but subcut. injns. of large doses in guinea-pigs and rabbits produces localized regions of caseation necrosis with no tendency toward extension of the lesion. It sensitizes guinea-pigs to avian (but not to mammalian) tuberculin, and to homologous culture filtrates. Gross agglutination reactions indicate that it has antigenic components in common with the avian tubercle bacillus.