Animal models are essential for the development of new anti-infectious drugs. Although some bacterial
infection models have been established in rodents, small primate models are rare. Here, we report on two bacterial
infection models established in tree shrew (
Tupaia belangeri chinensis
). A burnt skin infection model was induced by
dropping 5×10
6 CFU of
Staphylococcus aureus
on the surface of a wound after a third degree burn. This dose of
S. aureus
caused persistent infection for 7 days and obvious inflammatory response was observed 4 days after inoculation. A
Dacron graft infection model, 2×10
6 CFU of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
also caused persistent infection for 6 days, with
large amounts of pus observed 3 days after inoculation. These models were used to evaluate the efficacy of levofloxacin
(LEV) and cefoperazone (CPZ), which reduced the viable bacteria in skin to 4log
10 and 5log
10 CFU/100 mg tissue,
respectively. The number of bacteria in graft was significantly reduced by 4log
10 CFU/mL treatment compared to the
untreated group (P<0.05). These results suggest that two bacterial infection models were successfully established in tree
shrew using
P. aeruginosa and
S. aureus. In addition, tree shrew was susceptible to
P. aeruginosa and
S. aureus, thus
making it an ideal bacterial infection animal model for the evaluation of new antimicrobials.
