Antibody response following subcutaneous and intraperitoneal injection of Bacteroides fragilis in rabbits.

Intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injection of Bacteroides fragilis into rabbits resulted in IgM and IgG fluorescent antibody titers which did not differ significantly between the two groups of animals. Histologic studies revealed a typical abscess at the site of injection in subcutaneously injected animals while lung, liver, spleen and kidney sections from intraperitoneally injected animals showed normal tissue. The findings indicate that either intraperitoneal or subcutaneous injection can be used to study the serologic response in Bacteroides fragilis infections.