The existance of acid fast bacilli producing pulmonary disease in humans, but
differing from My-cobacterium tuberculosis in cultural characteristics and in failure to
produce progressive disease in the guinea pig, has been reported sporadically for many
years in other countries than Korea, but recently this has come to be reported with
increasing frequency and interest, In Korea, the existence and biological characteristics
of this so-called atypical acid-fast bacilli has been first reported by Dr. K.S. Kim at the
12th Annual Meeting of Tuberculosis Association.
Here, this writer intended to study the virulence of atypical acid-fast bacilli for guinea
pig and mice for further knowledge successively.
1) The virulence for mice and guinea ig with tree atypical acid-fast bacilli strains
was demonstrated. Photochromogens, non-photochromogens and scotochromogens were
the used strains and among them the potochromogens were proved to be strongly
virulent for mice.
2) Tuberculin test was done to the whole used animals and the majority of mice
showed positive reaction to O.T.(1:100), while guinea pig remained negative.
3) Repeated isolation from lesions was possible and microscopic section of the lesion
in the liver, spleen and lung showed so-called the young epithelioid tubercle which was
histopathologically indistinguishable from tuberculosis.
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