Experimental staphyloenterotoxicosis in mink.

Experimental staphyloenterotoxicosis was produced in minks by oral administration of mink feed containing 5 or 200 µg of purified enterotoxin A per test animal. The animals became very exhausted after the ingestion of toxin. Vomiting was observed in two of seven minks of the lower toxin group with a latent period of 2.5 to 4.0 h. The higher toxin concentration caused vomiting in four of seven test animals with a latent period of 2.0 to 2.5 h. Vomitus was accompanied by strong salivation. Poor appetite was observed in four of seven minks having ingested 5 µg of SEA, and 200 µg caused total loss of appetite in all the test animals. After a test period of 22 h all the animals but one had normal appetite. Diarrhoea was prominent in three of seven minks with the low toxin concentration and in all with the high toxin concentration. Statistically significant haemato-logical changes compared to the control group were an increase in neutrophil count and a decrease in lymphocyte count in the high toxin group. Significant changes in the blood chemical data were an increase in blood urea nitrogen with 200 µg of SEA and a decline in the cholesterol level in both toxin groups.