Pathogenesis and chemotherapy of experimental Legionella pneumophila infection in the chick embryo

The pathogenicity of Legionella pneumophila, serogroup 1, strain Nottingham N7, was assessed in terms of LD50 data and the ability of the organism to induce pathological lesions in the fertile hen's egg. Histopathological examination of embryo organs after inoculation with 1, 10, 100 and 1000 times the yolk sac LD50 revealed a disseminated infection. Systemic spread of the organism resulted in widespread necrosis and evidence of consolidation together with generation of copious amounts of oedema fluid. These were particularly severe in the liver, heart, spleen and kidney. The infection elicited a massive inflammatory response typified by infiltration with polymorphonuclear leucocytes and lymphocytes. Selected antimicrobial chemotherapeutic agents were investigated in protection studies for their capacity to ameliorate or control disease processes in this test system. Of those examined ciprofloxacin was most effective in reducing the incidence of lesions in these tissues and for prolonging embryo viability. Rifampicin, and to a lesser degree, erythromycin and doxycycline, also showed antimicrobial activity in these in vivo trials. These results indicate that the fertile hen's egg may be a useful alternative to other animal systems for the in vivo testing of clinically putative antimicrobial agents in the treatment of Legionnaires' disease.