Experimental male genital tuberculosis-appraisal of protective value of BCG vaccination.

As part of an experimental study of the spread of urogenital tuberculosis, the development of tuberculous infection was compared in vaccinated and non-vaccinated guinea pigs after challenge with Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv into the seminal vesicle. The animals were saccrified 35 days after challenge. Morphological observations indicate that tuberculous infection in an immunized animal is retarded, but spreads by the same routes as in an nonimmunized animal. On microbial enumeration significantly lower numbers of organisms were recovered from the inoculated seminal vesicle and regional iliac lymph nodes of the BCG-vaccinated guinea pigs.