Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Macrophages In Resistance To Caseous Lymphadenitis, Amy Fish

Honors College

Caseous lymphadenitis (CL) is a chronic disease that affects sheep and goats worldwide. CL causes a large economic loss to producers via milk and fiber losses, carcass condemnation, and chronic wasting of animals. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (C. psTB) causes CL, and infected animals produce abscesses, typically in lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and mammary tissues. Ruptured abscesses release C. psTB, and can contaminate the environment. The bacteria are extremely hardy and can survive in the external environment for over a year, infecting other animals through open wounds.

Macrophages engulf C. psTB when it enters the body, and carry it …