92 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



As an explanation of the fact that children at the breast are 

 seldom attacked by diphtheria great importance attaches to the 

 discovery of FISCHL and v. WUNSCHHEIM l supplementing the 

 work of WASSERMANN, that the serum of healthy suckling babies 

 already contains fairly considerable quantities of diphtheria 

 antitoxine ; they detected it in 83 per cent, of all the children 

 examined. The correspondence with the numbers observed by 

 A. WASSERMANN indicates that here there must be a transference 

 of antitoxine from the mother to the baby by means of the 

 placental blood and the milk. 



As in the case of the toxine we must here distinguish between 

 two aims those that have in view only the preservation and 

 concentration of the antitoxine for practical purposes with or 

 without the production of a solid product, and, on the other 

 hand, the attempts that are made in careful investigations to 

 obtain an insight into the constitution of the antitoxine itself, 

 by determining its ratio to the different proteids in its mother 

 liquids and by isolating as completely as possible the active 

 principle. 



Preservation of the Serum. The first necessity is to preserve 

 the serum so that it retains its full amount of antitoxine, while 

 decomposition is prevented. The serum will keep for a fairly 

 long time if protected from the action of air, light, or bacterial 

 contamination. Since it is a good nutrient medium for bacteria 

 it must be prepared and kept with strict aseptic precautions. In 

 addition to this an antiseptic agent, such as phenol in solutions 

 up to 0*5 per cent, in strength, is usually added. 



According to DI MARTINI 2 sterilisation by nitration is un- 

 suitable, since a considerable proportion of the antitoxine is kept 

 back by the Chamberland filter. This is categorically denied by 

 DziERZGOWSKi. 3 CoBBETT 4 has thoroughly investigated this 

 point, so extremely important from a practical point of view, and 

 asserts that such retention frequently occurs, especially with the 

 Berkefeld or Martin filter, and may be very considerable, par- 

 ticularly when the pores of the filter begin to be clogged. 

 Hence the filtration ought not to be forced. When it does not 

 take place easily without the application of high pressure from 



1 Fischl and v. Wunschheim, " Ueb. Schutzkorper im Blute der 

 Neugeborenen," Prager med. Woch., 1895, No. 45, et seq. 



2 di Martini, " Sul comportamento del siero antidifterico filtrate," Rif. 

 Med., 1896, No. 266 ; Abst. Centralbl. f. Bakt., xxiv., 861, 1898. 



3 Dzierzgowski, " Z. Frage : Ueb. die Verluste des Diphth.-Heils. bei der 

 Filtration," Centralbl. f. Bakt., xxi., 233, 1897. 



4 Cobbett, "Der Einfluss der Filtration auf das Diphth. -Antitoxin," 

 Centralbl. f. Bakt., xxiv., 386, 1898. 



