GONOCOCCUS REACTIONS 341 



most severe on the control side) have somewhat dampened my 

 enthusiasm regarding the general applicability of the test. Further 

 experience with it will be necessary before it can be recommended 

 for routine use. 



As regards the comparative value of the Wassermann and the 

 luetin reaction it is still too early to make any definite statements. 



For the present it will no doubt be advisable to control the one 

 by the other. 



GONOCOCCUS REACTIONS. 



Quite encouraging results have recently been obtained by the 

 application of the principles underlying the tuberculin and luetin 

 reactions to the diagnosis of latent gonococcus infections, also. To this 

 end a polyvalent gonococcus vaccine or a corresponding autolyzed 

 product may be injected either intracutaneously or subcutaneously, 

 when local or focal, as well as general, reactions may be observed in 

 a large percentage of chronic cases, while in the acute infections the 

 results are usually negative. 



Working with a glycerin extract of gonococci which they em- 

 ployed intracutaneously as in the tuberculin test of v. Pirquet, 

 Brack and Irons claim to have obtained "skin reactions" which 

 could be utilized for diagnostic purposes in many instances. Irons 

 states that in positive cases an area of hyperemia measuring from 5 

 to 10 mm. in diameter develops in from twelve to twenty-four hours 

 around the point of the inoculation. A central injection made with 

 a similarly prepared glycerin extract of the washings from the same 

 number of inoculated culture tubes at that time only showed the 

 point of the needle puncture. While a negative reaction, or at 

 most, a small area of redness measuring but 2 to 3 mm. in diameter 

 is obtained, as a rule, in non-infected individuals, a positive result 

 is occasionally observed (especially in children) even though no 

 history or symptoms of a gonococcus infection can be obtained. 

 The reason of this abnormal behavior is not known, but the fact 

 that a similar response may be obtained in gonococcus infections with 

 a meningococcus vaccine as well, suggest that the phenomenon may 

 be due to latent infections with organisms which give a "group" 

 reaction with antigonococcus reaction bodies. 



Following the subcutaneous use of gonococcus vaccine marked 



