Formalin induces a considerable change in meningococcus culture filtrates. This consists of a marked decrease in toxidty as concerns both the Shwartzman phenomenon and the lethal effect, with relative preservation of the antibody-combining capacity and antigenicity. A similar modification occurs spontaneously in meningococcus culture filtrates on standing. Inasmuch as these changes parallel tho...

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), an acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy, is often associated with an antecedent factor, such as an infection, surgery, systemic malignancy, or vaccination. The first case of GBS following a vaccination with combined tetanus-diphtheria toxoid is reported.

The majority of Men C conjugate vaccines given in the UK use CRM(197), a mutant diphtheria toxoid, as their protein carrier. We studied the effects of prior immunisation with Men C-CRM(197) conjugate vaccine on immunity to diphtheria in 193 children before and after a booster dose of Men C at 4 years. Baseline diphtheria antibodies were higher in children given four previous doses of Men C (P<0...

The limits of sensitivity of three gel diffusion methods are compared and their utilization in the detection of small amounts of antibody to antigens present in traces in a preparation is illustrated with the diphtheria toxin-human antitoxin system. The Preer modification of the Oakley-Fulthorpe technique and the Oudin tube method were found more sensitive than the Ouchteriony plate method, and...

background and objectives: treatment of pseudomonas aeruginosa infections is greatly hampered by innate and acquired antibiotic resistance. the goal of this study was to compure the immunogenicity of conjugates of p. aeruginosa depolymerized alginate-diphtheria toxoid (d-algdt) and p. aeruginosa detoxified lipopolysaccharidediphtheria toxoid (d-lpsdt) in mouse model. materials and methods: algi...

Epidemic diphtheria reemerged in the republic of Georgia in 1993. From 1993 to 1997, 1405 cases were reported (28 in 1993, 312 in 1994, 429 in 1995, 348 in 1996, and 288 in 1997), with a cumulative incidence of 25.8/100,000 and a case fatality ratio of 9.5%. During 1993-1997, 53% of the diphtheria cases occurred among persons >/=15 years of age. Unvaccinated patients were more likely to have to...

After concern about the safety of diphtheria-tetanus toxoid-whole cell pertussis vaccines (DTPw), the recommendation to vaccinate children with DTPw was withdrawn in 1974 in the former West Germany. This led pertussis cases to increase to an estimated 100,000 annually. Despite renewal of the vaccination recommendation in 1991, vaccine use remained low. The German health care structure assures r...