The preparation of anti-typhoid serum in the horse for therapeutic use in man

Abstract

The object of this paper is to describe the immunizing procedures that have proved to be the most suitable up to the present time for preparing a potent serum from the horse for the treatment of typhoid fever. The principles on which the methods are based have their origin in the studies of Felix and his collaborators on the antigenic structure of Salmonella typhi. The technical details that follow will, we hope, assist those who are interested in the preparation of the serum as a therapeutic agent to obtain products which maintain a consistently high level of potency. This objective is not readily attained, but is of paramount importance, because the clinical use of products that fall below the permissible limits of potency would tend to bring discredit upon the serum as a specific remedy owing to insufficient dosage. The adoption of standards of potency that are prescribed by an official authority is an obvious desideratum and would guard against this risk, but in the meantime we shall be pleased to help by providing the requisite cultures and serological reagents.