Schiefer H B, Middleton D M
Vet Pathol. 1983 Jul;20(4):460-71. doi: 10.1177/030098588302000409.
Non-culturable acid-fast bacteria from two spontaneous cases of so-called feline leprosy were transmitted to rats and cats and further passaged in rats or cats. Two to six months after infection, cats developed cutaneous lesions that were indistinguishable from spontaneous cases, including the occurrence of nasal granulomata in one cat. When injected into rats, the mycobacteria caused a generalized mycobacteriosis and the granulomatous reaction was composed chiefly of macrophages without polymorphonuclear granulocytes. Infection of cats with Mycobacterium lepraemurium did not produce any lesions. The feline disease may be a suitable model for the study of human leprosy (Hansen's Disease).
从两例所谓猫麻风自然病例中分离出的不可培养抗酸菌被接种到大鼠和猫身上，并在大鼠或猫体内进一步传代。感染后两到六个月，猫出现了与自然病例难以区分的皮肤病变，其中一只猫还出现了鼻肉芽肿。将这些分枝杆菌注射到大鼠体内时，会引发全身性分枝杆菌病，肉芽肿反应主要由巨噬细胞组成，未见多形核粒细胞。用鼠麻风分枝杆菌感染猫未产生任何病变。猫的这种疾病可能是研究人类麻风病（汉森病）的合适模型。
