Poditis in the rat as a complication of experiments in exercise physiology

Experiments using the rat to study the effect of forced exercise on various physiologic and biochemical processes were complicated by the occurrence of poditis. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from two affected rats and a tentative diagnosis of staphylococcal pododermatitis was made. In a subsequent study, poditis again occurred and S aureus was isolated from the rats, cages, exercise wheels, and attendants. Subcutaneous inoculation of six rats with the organism failed to reproduce the disease. The isolation of S aureus, and the apparent response to hygienic and therapeutic procedures and a change in exercise apparatus, suggested a traumatic and infectious etiology. However, the respective roles of trauma and S aureus or other microorganisms were not resolved.