16 



THE NEW YORK JOURNAL OF PHARMACY 



THE GREAT PRACTICAL AD- 

 VANCE IN SEROTHERAPY 

 AND IMMUNIZATION 

 BY MEANS OF SERO- 

 BACTERINS. 



Serobacterins are sensitized bacterial 

 vaccines or suspensions of killed sen- 

 sitized bacteria. In the language of 

 the laboratory, they are produced by 

 saturating bacteria with the specific 

 antibodes found in the serum of an 

 immunized animal, removing the ex- 

 cess of serum by centrifuging and sus- 

 pending the bacteria in a saline solu- 

 tion. According to the trustworthy 

 reports of bacteriologists and clini- 

 cians, they are destined in great meas- 

 ure to supplant other means if immu- 

 nizing against and treatment of man}' 

 infectious diseases. 



The method of sensitizing is, in 

 brief, the treatment of killed bacteria 

 with specific immune serum wherebv 

 the bacteria unite with the immune 

 bodies present in the serum, so that 

 upon injection the combination is 

 ready for immediate attack by the 

 "complement" in the patient's blood. 



There is thus secured a great gain 

 of time over the older methods of bac- 

 terial therapy, and whether in preven- 

 tion or treatment this immediacy is of 

 the utmost value. In a few days, for 

 instance, by typho-serobacterin, the 

 ])ractitioner may now secure f(^r his 

 patient immunity against typhoid as 

 formerly in nearly a month with the 

 old typhoid vaccine. 



Other advantages are that there is 

 no local irritation at site of injection 

 and little or no lassitude or sickness. 

 More important, still, is the fact that 

 there is no negative phase. The size 



of the doses may also be greatly in- 

 creased, even quadrupled, thus assur- 

 i n g rapidity o f production and 

 strength of immunity. 



Of interest in this connection are 

 the laboratory results of Theobald 

 Smith and the work of Von Behring 

 in combining diphtheria toxin and 

 antitoxin for immunization against 

 diphtheria. By making mixtures con- 

 taining varying amounts of toxin and 

 antitoxin they were able to secure any 

 degree of immunity — from a short 

 passive immunity due to the serum, to 

 an active immunity of long duration, 

 resulting from the action of the toxin. 



To the foregoing advantages of the 

 uses of serobacterins it may be added 

 that in very late stages of the disease, 

 when the bacterial vaccines and even 

 serum treatment is ineffective, suc- 

 cessful results are sometimes obtained 

 and life is saved. 



Besredka, of the Pasteur Institute, 

 authoritatively summarizes the matter 

 by saying: — 



"Whatever the nature of the virus, 

 whether the microbe of plague, dys- 

 entery, cholera or typhoid fever. Or 

 whether the virus of rabies or the 

 toxin of diphtheria, whether the mi- 

 crobes are killed or living, sensitiza- 

 tion confers upon them properties 

 which convert them into vaccines of 

 the first order, possessing an action 

 which is sure, rapid, inoffensive and 

 durable." 



The results of the clinical use of 

 serobacterins in actual practice f!;iye, 

 of course, the final and convincing 

 test. Of such reports one notices that 

 of Gordon, on the successful use of 

 strepto-serobacterin (sensitized strep- 



