THE OFFICIAL METHODS USED IN GERMANY FOR TESTING 
DIPHTHERIA TOXINE AND ANTITOXIN. 
The German methods which follow have been taken largely from 
E. Marx: Die Experimentelle Diagnostik Seriimtherapie and Prophy- 
laxe der Infectionskrankheiten, 1902. 
In Germany the governmental control of diphtheritic serum is 
effected through the imperial act of December 31, 1891, which for^ 
bids unrestricted commerce in diphtheritic serum. The sale and traffic 
in diphtheritic serum is controlled by the Konigliches Institut fiir 
experimentelle Therapie zu Frankfurt a. M., which is designated as 
the official place of examination for the Empire. Apothecaries are 
allowed to deal onl}^ in sera which are thus controlled. 
This control naturall}^ begins at the place of manufacture and con- 
sists of an inspection to assure the use of none but healthy horses in 
the production of serum. Official regulations are prescribed concern- 
ing the animals, the injection of toxines, and the drawing of blood 
from horses. 
When a manufacturer has several liters (3 to 10) of tested serum 
this quantity is brought to the Government officer (known as the 
Abnahmebeamte) at the place of its manufacture. At the same time 
exact data upon the history of the particular serum must be given. 
The Abnahmebeamte takes a small quantity of the serum, places 3 to 
5 c. c. in each of six or eight bottles, which he guards with a lead seal, 
and, attaching the necessaiw labels, sends the bottles to the testing 
station at Frankfurt a. M. The serum that remains at the factory is 
placed by the Abnahmebeamte under official lock and key until he 
receives the results of the tests. 
The official testing of diphtheria antitoxin was started in Germany 
at the Institut fiir Infectionskrankheiten, of Berlin, February 20, 
1895.“ 
A serum is tested— 
(a) To see that it is harmless, and 
{h) For its antitoxic value. 
1. It must be clear or, at most, have a very slight precipitate. 
2. It must be free from bacteria, as tested by bacteriological 
methods. 
3. It must not contain more than 0.5 per cent of carbolic acid 
or cresoL 
« Ehrlich: Die staatliche controle des diphtherieserums. Ber. klin. woch., v. 33 
(20), May 18, 1896, pp. 441-443. 
22277— No. 21—05 6 
(81) 
