DURATION OF PASSIVE IMMUNITY TO BOTULINUM TOXIN OFFERED BY ANTITOXIN IN MICE AND RABBITS

Abstract

Various doses of botulinum antitoxin, types A and B, were administered to mice and rabbits by the intraperitoneal and intravenous routes. The persistence of a passive immunity to the type A toxin was determined by (1) administering challenge doses of the toxin at various times after the antitoxin and (2) determining the median lethal ratios (LR50's) of toxin:antitoxin (MU:u) that produced a 50% mortality rate at each challenge time. Decreases in LR50 with time reflect the fall in amount of antitoxin in the blood of the animals and decreased passive immunity to the toxin. A graph prepared from the data represents a mathematical model of mortality frequency distribution in mice and rabbits after 500 MU of toxin. Passive immunity declines steadily with time; however, a sufficiently large dose of antitoxin in mice can produce passive immunity lasting for at least 49 days.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0632317

Entities

People

  • Fred W. Oberst
  • James W. Crook
  • Paul Cresthull

Organizations

  • Edgewood Chemical Biological Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Animals
  • Antitoxins
  • Biomedical Research
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Food Poisoning
  • Frequency
  • Immunity
  • Laboratory Animals
  • Maryland
  • Materials
  • Mathematical Models
  • Medical Personnel
  • Models
  • Range Finding
  • Toxicology
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Microbial Pathology
  • Virology (or Medical Virology).