Abstract
In a previous paper we showed that when tetanus bacilli are present in the stools of man an appreciable amount of antitoxin can be found in the blood. We have used this fact to explain in part the comparatively low incidence of tetanus infections in Peking where approximately a third of the population are carries of tetanus bacilli. It is of theoretical as well as of practical interest to know whether this antitoxin passes the placenta and we are grateful to Dr. J. P. Maxwell, who has supplied us with the specimens necessary for such a study.
The stools of fourteen of the mothers examined failed to show tetanus bacilli and not one of their sera was able to neutralize two M. L. D. of toxin. Tests on the sera of their children were likewise negative.
Six of the mothers proved to be carriers of tetanus bacilli and the results obtained from the examinations of the maternal and child's (cord) bloods are given in the table.
It will be seen that, with one marked exception, when tetanus antitoxin was found in the mother's serum it was also present in the cord blood and that, in the majority of cases, the level in the two bloods was approximately the same.
Recent experiments have shown that the amount of antitoxin necessary to neutralize 10 M. L. D. of our toxin is slightly less than 0.01 U. S. units. Since the tests for antitoxin in the serum were made with only 0.1 C.C. this means that two of the babies were born with approximately 0.25 units, one with 0.1 units, two with 0.05 units and one with no appreciable antitoxin per C.C. of serum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.