Experimental Cholera in Chinchillas: the Immune Response in Serum and Intestinal Secretions to Vibrio cholerae and Cholera Toxin.

The immune response to Vibrio cholerae and cholera toxin was studied in chinchillas inoculated intra-intestinally with 10(8) viable V. cholerae 596B. Sera and intestinal fluids were collected from animals on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 30, and 60 postinoculation, and antibodies were quantified by various methods. When radiovibriolytic and radiotoxin precipitin tests were used, a significant (fourfold) rise in both antibacterial and antitoxic titers was detected in intestinal fluids on the 2nd day of infection. In contrast, a significant rise in serum antibodies occurred between days 3 and 5. Since the acute phase of the chinchilla disease lasts 1 to 3 days, recovery coincided with rise in intestinal antibody but not with rise in serum antibody. Our results indicate that both antibacterial and antitoxic mechanisms are operative in chinchilla cholera and that the initial and crucial immune response is local in nature.