Survival of BALB/c mice after intravenous infection with Mycobacterium marinum

In a search for a simple technique by which to study the disease of mice that follows infection with Mycobacterium marinum, survival of BALB/c mice after i.v. inoculation of M. marinum was measured. Length of survival was inversely proportional to the number of viable organisms in the inoculum, and was greater in weanling than in yearling mice. Prior infection with M. marinum in a hindfoot pad at least two weeks before i.v. challenge with the same organism conferred protection against the challenge.