The domestic pig, Sus scrofa domestica, was examined as a model for typhoid
fever, a severe and systemic disease of humans caused by Salmonella typhi.
Six pigs were inoculated 1 week post-weaning with approximately 10(10) col
ony forming units (cfu) of wild type Salmonella typhi strain ISP1820 intran
asally and observed for 3 weeks. S. typhi was cultured from the tonsils of
50% of the pigs at necropsy. Cultures from all other organs analysed (ileum
, colon, spleen and liver) were negative. No clinical or histopathological
signs of disease were observed. Pigs inoculated in parallel with swine-viru
lent S. choleraesuis all exhibited signs of systemic salmonellosis indicati
ng that the parameters of the experimental infection with S. typhi (e.g. ro
ute) were appropriate. Whereas the pig has a gastrointestinal tract that is
very similar to humans, our results indicated that the unique features of
host and microbe interaction needed to produce typhoid fever were not mimic
ked in swine. Nevertheless, our observation of tonsillar involvement was co
nsistent with former observations of S. choleraesuis and S. typhimurium inf
ections in swine and supports a role for the tonsil in all porcine salmonel
la infections. (C) 2000 Academic Press.