Abstract
Conclusions and summary
The complement-fixation test described in this paper provides a means whereby the presence of antibodies to the virus of E.V.A. can be detected and quantitatively estimated in serum. The lung antigen employed in the test is specific in the sense that it does not react with sera from normal horses, and that similarly prepared antigen from the lungs of a normal horse does not react with positive sera. (Whether or not the antigen will react with antibodies to other viruses, and whether or not different strains of this virus exist, remain to be investigated.) By means of this test information may now be obtained on the immunological course of E.V.A. in diseased mares, which will perhaps help in the early diagnosis of E.V.A., and in the prognosis of this infection. The response of 2 horses to single injections of infected material has revealed the potent antigenicity of the preparations. The possibilities of prophylactic immunizations, using the complement-fixation test to check the progress of the immunization, are obvious. Lastly, the test may be employed as a means of determining the presence or absence of the virus, whether in the natural host, experimentally infected animals, or inoculated tissue cultures. Experiments are in progress on an evaluation of the complement-fixation test, as employed for these purposes.
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