Analysis of Epidermal Entry in Experimental Cutaneous Bacillus Anthracis Infections in Mice

The study investigated Bacillus anthracis-epidermal interactions using experimental inoculations of B. anthracis Sterne spores on mouse skin. In DBA/2 mice, 10^7 spores injected intradermally or applied to abraded skin caused rapid death, while epicutaneous application to shaved skin resulted in slower mortality. C57BL/6 mice showed less mortality with abraded skin inoculation and survived later intradermal injections after initial shaved skin inoculation. Histology revealed significant organism proliferation in the epidermis and hair follicles of abraded skin but not in shaved-only skin. The findings suggested that epidermal damage increased infection susceptibility, with hair follicles and denuded dermis being potential entry points for B. anthracis.