Joseph Smolens

The Persistence in the Human Circulation of Horse and Human Tetanus Antitoxins.

Summary Human subjects were passively immunized with either horse-globulin tetanus antitoxin or human gamma globulin tetanus antitoxin. The homologous antitoxin persisted at higher levels and for a much longer period of time than the heterologous. The horseglobulin antitoxin decreased very sharply after the first week, and, thereafter, followed a straight-line curve to its preimmunization level.

The detection of susceptibility to whooping cough: II. Clinical standardization of the diagnostic skin test reagent and its use in institutional and in private practice

Summary The agglutinogen of phase I H. pertussis prepared by a method of chemicalextraction has been compared with the sonic-extracted material which has been shown to be a satisfactory skin test agent for susceptibility to pertussis. The acid-extracted agglutinogen was standardized against the sonic product and found to be more potent, and to give more clear-cut reactions. Review of these data showed that a twenty-four-hour reading time could berecommended. At present the skin test dose is estimated in units by laboratory methods, and assayed finally by human intradermal inoculation. This agglutinogen gives identical results to those obtained with the sonic-extracted material; there is no reaction even in large doses in normal (susceptible) individuals, and an allergic reaction at the site of injection in any individual with solid immunity to whooping cough from either immunization or previous attack of the disease. In an institution with annual outbreaks of whooping cough, the use of agglutinogen before the anticipated epidemic was followed by a significant decrease in the number of cases, all of which occurred in the group predicted by the skin test to be susceptible. Yearly skin testing of new students followed by immunization of all susceptible children has resulted thus far in the absence of whooping cough from this school. Comparison of the agglutinogen skin test with the Strean toxin test in childrenfrom City of Philadelphia Health Centers has been made. The results clearly indicated a close correlation between the history and the agglutinogen skin test results. On the other hand, results from the use of the Strean test revealed that satisfactory correlation between history and toxin test only existed in the group of known susceptible children. The use of agglutinogen has a definite place as a public health measure in periodic examinations of young children. The duration of primary immunization may be determined while the antigenicity of agglutinogen produces a prompt recall of any existing antibacterial immunity.

The Antigenicity of Shigella paradysenteriae (Flexner) in Saline-in-Mineral-Oil Emulsion.

Summary and Conclusions Investigations have been carried out with a saline-in-mineral-oil emulsion vaccine containing dysentery antigen. The results in mice and rabbits reveal a striking improvement in the antibody response with this menstruum, especially as far as prolongation of high titers is concerned. There was often a definite increase in the peak titers as well. These results have been obtained in the absence of acid-fast bacilli.

Frequent plasmapheresis of the same donor as a means of obtaining large amounts of plasma free of bacteria and hepatitis virus.

This study concerns the frequency of incidence of hepatitis in : 1. A healthy population made up of 1291 blood donors and 1208 employees and laborers; 2. A population of patients divided in 1026 non transfused and 1005 previously transfused. The incidence of hepatitis did not show any significant difference between these groups. 104 transfusion recipients were studied who received 282 transfusions, with clinical controls and monthly liver tests during the five months following the last transfusion. The relation of the frequency of hepatitis to the number of transfusions was 1.4%. The risk per patient month was 0.8%. Of the 104 patients transfused, 4 had hepatitis (3.8%). D ow nl oa de d by : 20 7. 46 .1 3. 16 7 /2 7/ 20 16 6 :2 8: 37 A M