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Observations on the Standardization of Antipneumococcus Serum by the Protection Test

From the Division of Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, Albany

Abstract

It is important to record the fact that antipneumococcus sera may maintain their protective activity without appreciable evidence of deterioration for eight or more years. By the method for measuring the potency of different sera used in the foregoing tests, the ratios between the potency of the standard serum and the test sera were remarkably uniform, indicating the accuracy of the technic. Irregularities are attributed largely to variations in the susceptibility of the mice. The variation in protection, which occurred with both standard and test sera from time to time, must in general be attributed to changes in virulence of the standard culture. Dilution of the culture is not an adequate criterion when cultures of excessively exalted virulence are used.

Minor modifications, such as special attention to environmental conditions during growth of the pneumococcus and the use of more mice, which were adopted in the later years, have further increased the reliability and usefulness of the test.

As stressed in an earlier paper (11), a standard control serum is essential to the standardization of antipneumococcus serum, and it must be included in every test.