Thomas W. Cilliney wrote:
>
>Maybe I'm not up on the latest, up-to-the-minute information, but it was my
>understanding that the causative organism of EFB (Melissococcus pluton)
>is a non-spore-forming bacterium. If so, how could the above LD50 (or
>should that be LC50) have been arrived at? Please clue me in.
>
>Thomas W. Culliney
 
Marion Ellis responds:
 
The original question regarded AFB and EFB.
 
My response to the request for information on lethal doses only addressed
AFB.  The review article by F. Raetnicks which I cited makes that clear.  I
think LD50 is the appropriate term as we are talking about how many spores
per organism are necessary to cause an infection.  LC or lethal
concentration is generally used when discussing materials suspended in a
liquid or gas (units per unit volume of the carrier) when test organisms are
exposed to a known volume of the carrier.  Depending on how you define your
assay, either term could be used.
 
As you state, Melissococcus pluton is not a spore forming organism.
 
I have never clued anyone in before, I hope this response gives you peace.
Marion Ellis,  [log in to unmask]