522 THE TECHNIC OF COMPLEMENT-FIXATION REACTIONS 



cases of pertussis. They used 0.1 c.c. to 0.3 c.c. of the human serum 

 heated to 56 C., and 0.05 c.c. to 0.01 c.c. of fresh guinea-pig serum 

 as complement. The amboceptor was the serum of rabbits previously 

 injected with sheep corpuscles. The antigen was an emulsion of the 

 bacillus of pertussis in salt solution, the growth being twenty-four 

 hours old. 



Arnheim 1 obtained complement fixation in 6 of 12 cases of per- 

 tussis. Wollstein examined the serum from 9 patients with pertussis 

 and in no instance did she obtain complement fixation, using the 

 three forms of antigen just mentioned in all cases. The quantities 

 of complement and amboceptor were about the same as those used by 

 Bordet and Gengou. 



Gengou and Brunard 2 describe 3 cases in which they determined 

 the specific pertussis character of the infection by complement fixation. 



In 1911 Bordet and Gengou 3 reported certain atypical cases diagnosed 

 as pertussis by means of complement fixation. A little later Bordet 4 

 concluded that the power to fix complement is not found early, and does 

 not become marked until near the end of the disease. 



St. Bacher and Menschikoff 5 report 27 cases of pertussis in all 

 stages in which attempts were made to obtain complement fixation, 

 without success in a single case. Only after vaccines of pure cultures 

 of the Bacillus pertussis were given did fixation occur. Their antigen 

 was an emulsion of the bacillus of pertussis in salt solution, while 0.4 c.c. 

 of a 1 : 10 dilution of guinea-pig serum served as complement, and 

 0.5 c.c. of a 1 : 150 dilution of serum of a rabbit previously injected 

 with sheep corpuscles served as amboceptor. 



Delcourt 6 obtained complement fixation in 6 cases of pertussis. 

 Poleff 7 gives a resume of the results of five investigators. In 5 cases 

 only was there complement fixation and in 31 cases no fixation was 

 obtained. He himself reports 10 cases in which he did not obtain 

 fixation. 



Hess 8 tested 10 cases and concluded "that results would seem to 

 show that this reaction is present for some months after cessation of 

 all symptoms." 



1 Berl. klin. Wchnschr., 1908, 14, p. 1453. 



2 Bull. Adad. de med. Belg., 1910, 24, p. 329. 



3 Centralbl. f. Bakteriol., I, O, 1911, 58, p. 573. 



4 Ibid., 1912, 66, p. 275. Ibid., 61, p. 218. 



6 Presse med. Belg., 1912, 64, p. 19. 



7 Centralbl. f. Bakteriol., I, O., 1913, 69, p. 23. 



8 Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc., 1914, 63, p. 1007 



