Abstract
Blood serum of human beings convalescent from poliomyelitis has a higher agglutinin antibody titer for various enteric organisms than has human serum that is taken from the same patient at the onset of the illness. 1 Was this increased titer found in convalescence a new acquisition and the titer found at the height of the disease the normal titer level, or was the titer in convalescence merely a return to a normal level after a temporary decrease that occurred at the height of the disease?
The normal blood serums of twelve 4 to 8 pound Macacus rhesus monkeys were tested and found to be rarely higher than 1:80 in agglutinin titer for the several enteric organisms used (B. typhoid, paratyphoid A and B and various B. coli organisms). The monkeys were then injected with a mixed vaccine of killed typho-coliparatyphoid organisms in increasing doses together with a mixture of toxins produced by growing the various organisms in broth for 10 days. These injections were given in small doses at intervals of from 4 to 7 days for a period of about 42 days.
After a rest interval, the blood serums were tested and were found to have an agglutinin titer of 1:640 at least and occasionally a titer of 1:2560 for the various enteric organisms used.
The animals were then injected intracerebrally with virulent poliomyelitis virus. It was found that with the advent of paralysis in the animal the enteric agglutinin titer dropped sharply; with complete prostration and palsy, the titer value was reduced to 1:10 values and often to zero.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.