Lesion-centric bacterial burden and cumulative burden in drug-naive rabbits with active TB. (A) Evolution of bacterial load per lesion from 4 to 20 wk postinfection. (B) Range of CFU/lesion within individual rabbits from 4 to 20 wk postinfection. (C) Proportion of cellular (empty bars) and necrotic (gray bars) lesions as disease progresses from 4 to 20 wk postinfection; actual numbers of sterile versus total lesions are indicated on top of each bar. (D) Evolution of the cumulative bacterial burden per lesion from 4 to 20 wk postinfection. (E) CEQ/CFU ratios within lesions, an indirect measure of the extent of immune-mediated killing, over the 20-wk disease course. Data from three independent experiments were combined to generate the plots. Asterisks indicate statistical significance by using the Mann-Whitney U test in A, B, D, and E and Fisher’s exact test in C. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001.