Distinct clinical outcomes in pediatric tuberculosis: A study utilizing infant macaques exposed to aerosol.

Clinically relevant pediatric animal models are required to advance research and therapies for() infections in children. Utilizing infant rhesus macaques exposed to controlled doses of aerosolizedCDC1551, we systematically monitored physical changes and assessed signs of tuberculosis, including physical examinations, clinical blood chemistry, radiography, and histopathology. Our results demonstrated that infant macaques exposed a physiologically relevant, low dose of aerosolizedCDC1551 and exhibited immune control of infection similar to that observed in human infants, while those exposed to a higher dose experienced widespread dissemination, rapid disease progression, and mortality within six weeks afterexposure. These findings suggest that pediatric rhesus macaques exposed to a low dose ofvia the aerosol route could serve as a translational model for naturalinfection in children, thereby allowing for the recapitulation of the immunopathogenesis and treatment of pediatric tuberculosis in a clinical setting.