Skip to main content
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1945 Nov 30;82(6):445–465.

PREVENTION OF PNEUMOCOCCAL PNEUMONIA BY IMMUNIZATION WITH SPECIFIC CAPSULAR POLYSACCHARIDES

Colin M MacLeod 1, Richard G Hodges 1, Michael Heidelberger 1, William G Bernhard 1
PMCID: PMC2135567  PMID: 19871511

Abstract

1. Immunization of man with 0.03 to 0.06 mg. of each of the capsular polysaccharides of pneumococcus types I, II, V, and VII, given in a single subcutaneous injection, has been shown to be effective in preventing pneumonia caused by these types but not that due to heterologous types. 2. Immunity appears within a period of 2 weeks following injection of the polysaccharides. Its duration was not determined, although 6 months can be set as a minimum. 3. Immunization of alternate subjects in the population reduced greatly the incidence of pneumonia in the non-immunized. 4. The carrier rate for pneumococcus types I, II, V, and VII was lowered significantly in the immunized group as compared with the controls. It is suggested that an over-all reduction in the incidence of carriers was responsible for the lowered rates for pneumococcal pneumonia in the non-immunized group.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.1 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cecil R. L., Vaughan H. F. RESULTS OF PROPHYLACTIC VACCINATION AGAINST PNEUMONIA AT CAMP WHEELER. J Exp Med. 1919 May 1;29(5):457–483. doi: 10.1084/jem.29.5.457. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Felton L. D., Kauffmann G., Stahl H. J. The Precipitation of Bacterial Polysaccharides with Calcium Phosphate : Pneumococcus. J Bacteriol. 1935 Feb;29(2):149–161. doi: 10.1128/jb.29.2.149-161.1935. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Francis T., Tillett W. S. CUTANEOUS REACTIONS IN PNEUMONIA. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES FOLLOWING THE INTRADERMAL INJECTION OF TYPE-SPECIFIC POLYSACCHARIDE. J Exp Med. 1930 Sep 30;52(4):573–585. doi: 10.1084/jem.52.4.573. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Heidelberger M., Kendall F. E. QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE PRECIPITIN REACTION : THE DETERMINATION OF SMALL AMOUNTS OF A SPECIFIC POLYSACCHARIDE. J Exp Med. 1932 Mar 31;55(4):555–561. doi: 10.1084/jem.55.4.555. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Heidelberger M., Macpherson C. F. QUANTITATIVE MICRO-ESTIMATION OF ANTIBODIES IN THE SERA OF MAN AND OTHER ANIMALS. Science. 1943 Apr 30;97(2522):405–406. doi: 10.1126/science.97.2522.405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Palmer J. W. A SIMPLE METHOD FOR PREPARING ANTIGENIC SUBSTANCES FROM THE TYPHOID BACILLUS. Science. 1940 Aug 16;92(2381):155–156. doi: 10.1126/science.92.2381.155. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Smillie W. G., Warnock G. H., White H. J. A Study of a Type I Pneumococcus Epidemic at the State Hospital at Worcester, Mass. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1938 Mar;28(3):293–302. doi: 10.2105/ajph.28.3.293. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Stillman E. G. FURTHER STUDIES ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LOBAR PNEUMONIA. J Exp Med. 1917 Oct 1;26(4):513–535. doi: 10.1084/jem.26.4.513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES