Homologous Serum Jaundice

The occurrence of jaundice after the administration of human tissue products was first described by Hirsch,¹who observed that jaundice developed in 14.8 per cent of 1,289 persons vaccinated for smallpox with "humanized lymph" in glycerin. A similar observation was made by Lürman²in 1885. By 1908 Weber³had collected from the literature 53 cases of acute yellow atrophy appearing in patients who had been treated in clinics for syphilis. Theiler⁴in 1918 observed jaundice in horses following the injection of homologous serum. However, it was not until 1937 that the first report of the development of hepatitis after the injection of a preparation containing, among other substances, human blood serum appeared. In that year Findlay and MacCallum⁵reported the occurrence of hepatitis among British troops after yellow fever vaccination. Since this report hepatitis has been noted to result from the administration of convalescent measles