Polyvalent antisera to Pseudomonas ribosomal vaccines: protection of mice against clinically isolated strains.

The preparation of polyvalent antisera to ribosomal vaccines from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is described. The ability of these antisera to protect mice by passive immunization against challenge with randomly chosen, clinically isolated strains of P. aeruginosa is reported. Significant protection was achieved against 34 of 40 strains tested (85%). Included among these strains against which protection was achieved were four mucoid strains. In addition, the degree of cross-protection attainable by the ribosomal vaccines was investigated. The results obtained indicated that these vaccines are generally serotype specific.