Abstract
A golden-hamster model of antimicrobial agent-associated lethal enterocolitis was produced by oral administration of cef atrizine (CFT). In all diarrheal and dead animals, the striking finding at necropsy was enterocolitis in which the cecum and distal ileum were greatly distended with fluid: toxigenic Clostridium difficile was detected at 108 CFU/head or greater. Bacteria-free cecal filtrate and culture filtrate of C. difficile isolated from the cecal contents of diarrheal animals exhibited lethal toxicity to normal hamsters. A single oral administration of CFT (75mg/kg) produced lethal enterocolitis in 17 of 20 animals during a one-month period of observation.
Clostridium butyricum Miyairi (CbM), spores, used as an enteroregulator, were investigated for their potential to prevent the lethal enterocolitis in this model. Animals were administrated CbM orally (109 CFU/day) for three consecutive days after CFT challenge, and this prevented death in 16 of 20 animals during one mouth of observation. These results suggest that CbM has a preventive effect against lethal enterocolitis in this model.
