Studies on Tetanus Toxoid: III. Antitoxic Response in Guinea Pigs Immunized with Tetanus Alum-precipitated Toxoid Followed by Tetanus Spores.

When an individual has been given one or more injections of tetanus toxoid and, at a later date, is injured and possibly infected with Clostridium tetani, what further precautions should be taken: (1) Administer antitoxin? (2) Give another injection of tetanus toxoid to accelerate the production of antitoxin? (3) Give no further treatment, depending on his present immunity to take care of the infection? The original idea in administering tetanus toxoid was to avoid the use of antitoxin. We have shown (Jones and Moss, 1936; Jones, 1936) that another injection of toxoid at the time of injury will quickly increase the antitoxin content twentyfold. This study was undertaken to ascertain whether a huge dose of tetanus spores would accelerate the production of additional antitoxin. Owing to the fact that there has been some difficulty in producing tetanus consistently in animals, we tried various methods. Gye and Cramer (1919) found that the ionizable salts of calcium injected together with the washed spores of Cl. tetani or of certain other anaerobes led to the development of the corresponding infections in their typical and fatal forms, while the washed spores alone showed no tendency to develop in the tissue after inoculation. The chlorides of sodium, potassium, ammonium, strontium, or manganese had no such effect. Later, Fildes (1927, 1929 a, 1929 b) showed that in the sub33