PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA INFECTION: EVIDENCE F O R

IN a previous report (Stieritz and Holder, 1975) we described an experimental burned-mouse model that was particularly suitable for investigating the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection; early events in the establish-ment of the infection within the burned host were studied and growth of the organism in vivo was examined by quantitative bacteriological procedures. The results suggested that a lethal toxin was produced at the site of infection in the burned skin, and histological studies supported this hypothesis. Earlier investigators suggested that a lethal, diffusible toxin is produced by P. aeruginosa in the wounds of burned patients (Moncrief and Teplitz, 1964; Alexander, 1971). Furthermore, the degree of toxaemia was found to be related to the concentration of organisms in the burned tissues (Alexander, 1971). Our earlier studies suggested that the mouse model might be useful in the study of infection of burns, and this communication reports further experi-mental evidence that P. aeruginosa growing in burned tissues produces a lethal toxin