278 STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMOCOCCUS GROUP 



Marmorek, 1 Tavel 2 and others have prepared antistreptococcic 

 immune sera on a large scale by immunizing horses first with killed 

 cultures, then with increasing amounts of living cultures. Marmorek, 

 a staunch supporter of the "Einheit" theory that all streptococci 

 were identical, used a single strain of organism, whose virulence was 

 greatly increased for rabbits prior to injection into horses. Immuniza- 

 tion requires several months. He found that for some days following 

 each injection the horse exhibited a febrile reaction, and during that 

 period the serum was toxic for rabbits; streptococci may be found in 

 the blood stream during this period. After the temperature has 

 reached normal three weeks or more after the injection the toxic 

 properties disappear and the serum exhibits protective powers when 

 it is introduced into rabbits with a lethal dose of streptococci. This 

 serum has been used extensively in the treatment of erysipelas, puer- 

 peral fever, and scarlet fever, but its curative value is still a matter 

 of discussion. 



Tavel's serum is essentially like that of Marmorek, except that a 

 polyvalent vaccine is used for immunization. Besredka also uses a 

 polyvalent vaccine for immunizing horses, but the organisms are 

 not exalted in virulence for rabbits by passage through a series of 

 them before inoculating horses. Besredka believes that passage 

 through rabbits may modify the virulence of the streptococci for 

 man, from whom the organisms are obtained for immunizing the 

 horses, and for whom the serum is to be used. Streptococcal sera are 

 as yet of debatable value; in localized lesions they have frequently 

 exhibited some therapeutic value; in the severe generalized infections 

 in man they are usually either irregular in their action or inactive. 

 Somewhat more encouraging results have been reported where the 

 specific immune serum is used in connection with autogenous vaccines 

 of streptococci. 



Antibodies. Agglutinins are present in the sera of animals immu- 

 nized with streptococcus vaccines, and the degree of agglutinating 

 power may be very considerable for homologous strains. The results 

 are usually less definite with heterologous strains, and agglutinins 

 developed during immunization with streptococci are of no consider- 

 able value in prognosis. The part they may play in immunization 

 is problematical. 



Complement fixation has not been found a satisfactory method for 



1 Ann. Inst. Past., 1895, ix, 593. 



2 Loc. cit. 



