Abstract
THE usually accepted view that protection against.—L pathogenic bacteria is due to the development of specific antibodies in the blood is disputed by Prof. Besredka of the Pasteur Institute. It is true that after recovery from any infection, or after inoculation with a vaccine consisting of the killed bacteria which cause this infection, the blood acquires properties which it did not possess before; for example, the power of clumping the bacteria or even killing or dissolving them. It was very natural to suppose that the development of these bodies in the blood is directly responsible for recovery from any infection or the failure of the particular organism to gain a footing in successfully vaccinated individuals. Prof. Besredka realised, however, that in certain cases a definite protection exists without the occurrence of such bodies in the blood, and he was led to the belief that their appearance is a secondary and not a necessary sequel to a protection acquired by the special cells which the particular organism preferred.
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Local Immunity in Infectious Diseases. Nature 113, 242–243 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/113242a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/113242a0