Refined Hyperimmune Rickettsial Sera

Abstract

Topping' has demonstrated that monkeys and guinea pigs fatally infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be caused to recover by the administration of hyperimmune rabbit serum. This naturally suggests that such serum may have value in the treatment of human cases. The sera prepared by Topping were made by the injection of infectious tick-tissue as antigen. We have found that a serum of high neutralizing titer can also be obtained by injecting rabbits with yolk-sac material prepared according to the method of COX.^ We have determined that this can be refined by the same chemical procedures which are useful in purifying antipneumococcal rabhit serum and removing its toxic and reaction-producing elements. In such concentrates the neutralizing titer per gram of protein is increased about 20-fold as compared with the original serum. A similar antiserum and concentrate of high neutralizing value has also been made against the Breinl strain of European typhus. Sufficient quantities of these two sera are now being prepared and refined so that a thorough clinical study of their possible effectiveness in the treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and epidemic typhus fever in man can be made.

Infectious Diseases

“…178 After Lewthwaite and Savoor's work in clearing up the confusion about scrub typhus and tsutsugamushi disease, several workers 179 did the same with ricksettsial diseases in South Africa. They were able to separate a strain of the murine typhus bacillus from similar ones which were identified as belonging to the group of rickettsias causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever, or boutonneuse fever.…”

Hepatic Damage in Infantile Pellagra

“…However, Himsworth and Glynn 6 have stated that there is no positive evidence that the liver in man is affected to any extent or in the same manner by dietary imbalances as has been shown to be the case in laboratory animals. Moreover, György in a recent review 7 cautions against the pre¬ mature application of these experimental findings to clinical medicine.…”

“….Intermittent stool negativity was not unusual. 6. The immediate source of infection was rice pud¬ ding allowed to stand at kitchen temperature for twelve hours or more.…”