Abstract
Summary
Twelve cases of murine typhus occurring in individuals who previously received epidemic typhus vaccine are reported. It appears that the previous administration of the epidemic typhus vaccine did not affect the course or severity of the murine disease. The serologic response was different from that found in non-vaccinated cases of epidemic or murine typhus. The Weil-Felix reaction does not seem to be affected, for a rise in titer or high titers were obtained in a majority of the cases. The difference occurred in the specific antibody response. While the epidemic complement fixation titers were higher than the murine titers, a number of specimens showed equal titers or considerable cross fixation. The murine agglutination titers were usually higher than the epidemic titer with considerable cross agglutination. This type of reaction has not been found in individuals who had received epidemic typhus vaccine and who subsequently became infected with bacterial, viral, or protozoal infections. Since many of our soldiers who have received epidemic typhus vaccine may subsequently develop murine typhus either abroad or after return to this country, it is obvious that we may expect to have a considerable number of future cases presenting the serological pattern described in this paper.
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