PRODUCTION OF TETANUS TOXIN 



TABLE 2 



411 



MARTIN PEPTON 



Sporadic attempts at using Martin pepton broth^ were made 

 early in the year 1916 with indifferent results. Nothing more 

 was done until January, 1917, with regard to the adoption of 

 Martin broth for tetanus toxin as used at the Pasteur Institute. 

 The entire absence of Witte pepton at this time prevented us 

 from making control tests with the usual Witte pepton glucose 

 veal broth. 



The highest average for this period, i.e., in the year 1917, 

 occurred in the second quarter, when the average toxicity was 

 1:17,000. The first and third quarters gave respectively the 

 average toxicity of 1: 10,000 and 1:9000 while the fourth quarter 

 gave the lowest average toxicity of 1:5,000. 



Three different strains of Clostridium tetani were used for a com- 

 parative test (table 4). The strain designated ''Research" is the 

 culture used in the routine production of tetanus toxin at the 

 Bureau of Laboratories. This strain was obtained about ten 

 years ago from the New York State Laboratory at Albany but 

 its origin and date of isolation are not known. Unless otherwise 



^Martin, Louis. Annales de I'lnstitut Pasteur, vol. 12, p. 26, 1897. 



