This unit describes the techniques involved in the hamster model of leptospirosis. Hamsters are exquisitely susceptible to infection with pathogenic Leptospira species. The LD(50) of virulent Leptospiral strains by intraperitoneal inoculation of 3- to 4-week-old hamsters is as low as a single organism. The pathogenesis of severe leptospirosis in the hamster is a model of accidental infections observed in nature in many mammals, including humans. Animal husbandry issues and the reproducibility of the hamster model make it the animal model of choice for Leptospiral vaccine and antibiotic treatment studies.
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David A. Haake (2006) studied this question.
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