VACCINATION AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS. 



Scheme for treatment of severe infections. 



29 



In severe injuries the entire treatment is repeated after one month's interval. 



There is at present no doubt whatsoever as to the value of these antirabic vaccinations. 

 While the mortality, compiled from a great number of statistics, of the untreated cases, 

 of those infected or exposed to infection is 15 to 16 per cent., the death rate of those 

 treated at the Berlin Institute during 1898 to 1901 was 0.55 per cent. Similar figures 

 are given by the other institutions. 



Attempts have been made to employ this principle of virus attenuation 



for other infections. Behring and Koch tried immunization 



Vaccination against bovine tuberculosis by inoculation with living human 



Against tubercle bacilli. The material used for the above inocula ions 



Tuberculosis. can be bought under the name of Bovovaccine (v. Behring) 



and Tauruman (Koch) . 



Tauruman is prepared by the Hochst Farbwerke and is put up in sealed glass 

 tubes which contain 0.02 to 0.04 gm. of living tubercle bacilli suspended in 10 c.c. 

 of normal saline solution. This Tauruman is previously examined in Ehrlich's Institute 

 and note is taken of its purity, quantity of bacteria, virulence against guinea-pigs and 

 avirulence against rabbits (characteristics of the human type of tubercle bacilli). 



To this class of experimental work belong also the attempts of Friedmann 

 to immunize against human tuberculosis by the use of the tubercle bacilli 

 of cold blooded animals, and those of Wassermann, Ostertag and the author, 

 to inoculate against hog cholera with living cultures of mouse typhoid. 



Besides the preceding way of virus attenuation by passage through 



animals, there are other methods employed for the diminu- 



Other tion. of the toxicity of the virus. Growing the bacteria ^at 



Methods of too high a temperature, or exposing bacterial emulsions to 



Vaccine light, disinfectants or moderate heating, accomplishes the 



Preparation. same pur p O se. 



The mixture of bacteria with their specific serum (i.e., serum 

 obtained from animals that have been inoculated with these bacteria), 

 also diminishes the strength of the inoculated bacteria. Such bacteria are 

 designated by Bordet as "sensitized" bacteria. By allowing this mixture 

 to remain for some time, the bacteria attach their specific antibodies so that 

 after centrifugalization the added specific serum, now devoid of its specific 

 antibodies is removed, and the sensitized bacteria can be used as vaccines. 

 Inoculations of the latter rarely produce any infiltration. The same object 



