588 BIOLOGY OF PNEUMOCOCCUS 



tetanus spores and from pathogenic bacteria, the absence of toxic 

 or chill-producing properties, and an excess of preservative. The 

 National Institute of Health 1440 requires that "a sample of each 

 lot of all products shall be tested for identity if such test is ap- 

 plicable, otherwise for safety, after the labels have been affixed to 

 the final containers." 



ROUTINE SAFETY TEST 



This test consists in the injection of 5.0 cubic centimeters of the 

 product into the peritoneum of a normal guinea pig. The animal is 

 observed over a period of ten days for any symptoms referable to 

 harmful serum components or to bacterial contamination. 



The possibility that the intravenous administration of antipneu- 

 mococcic serum may result in more or less severe thermal reactions 

 renders it obligatory to test each lot for this property. The tests 

 proposed by Sabin and Wallace 1209 " 10 in dogs, and by Barnes and 

 Kramer, 83 and Barnes and Robinson 84 in monkeys have been dis- 

 cussed in a previous section of this chapter. It would be desirable 

 to test for this property on human subjects, but where such a 

 course is not possible, one of the two animal tests mentioned should 

 be employed. In addition to chill-production, other unwanted prop- 

 erties of the serum may thus also be detected. 



TESTS ON MICE 



One of the reasons advanced by Felton and Stahl for continu- 

 ing the use of the mouse protection test in standardizing anti- 

 pneumococcic serum is that it also serves as a safety test. The 

 value of the test, however, is limited; mice and rabbits are unre- 

 liable animals for detecting chill-producing properties, and the 

 usual mouse protection test is of insufficient duration to meet the 

 requirements in other respects to ensure the safety of the serum. 



Mice may be used for detecting excessive amounts of preserva- 

 tives as described by Leake and Corbitt. 794 The need for such a test 

 rarely arises, but the intraperitoneal and intravenous injection in 



