Antipneumococcus Rabbit Serum as a Therapeutic Agent in Lobar Pneumonia

Serum therapy revisited: animal models of infection and development of passive antibody therapy

“…Antipneumococcal sera were made in a variety of animals, with horses and rabbits being most frequently used (27,61). Type-specific horse antipneumococcal sera were generated by complicated immunization protocols which used both dead and live bacteria (27).…”

“…Production of antipneumococcal serum in horses required months, and the costs involved in the veterinary care of the animals, purification of antibody, and testing in mice made serum therapy expensive. Rabbit sera offered certain advantages over horse sera, including higher specific activity, antibodies with lower molecular weights (which were claimed to have higher levels of tissue penetration), no prozone effects in the mouse model, more rapid immunization protocols, and reduced cost (60,61).…”

Adventures with antibacterial drugs

“…During this time, workers at the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute demonstrated the superiority of antipneumococcus sera prepared in rabbits over those prepared in horses. 73 ----- Fig…”