STUDIES ON THE PRODUCTION OF AN EXFOLIATIVE TOXIN BY STAPHYLOCOCCUS-INTERMEDIUS

Isolates of Staphylococcus (S.) intermedius from the pustules of 54 dogs with superficial pyoderma were screened for their ability to produce an extracellular substance called exfoliative toxin. This toxin should be comparable to toxins produced by strains of S. aureus and S. hyicus isolated from certain skin diseases in humans and pigs respectively. However, neither with the bioassay using suckling mice, nor in vitro using specimens of canine skin, could an exfoliative toxin be demonstrated in concentrated culture supernatants of S. intermedius broth cultures. The typical splitting of the epidermis at the level of the stratum granulosum could be induced in the skin of suckling mice both in vivo and in vitro with CCS of toxigenic S. aureus reference strains.