Erysipelas

Studies of toxin production byStreptococcus erysipelatis, and on neutralization of this soluble toxin by the serum of convalescent erysipelas patients, and by the serum produced in rabbits and horses by repeated injections of killed and living cultures ofStreptococcus erysipelatistogether with increasing amounts of the toxic filtrate produced in these cultures, were begun by me two years ago in the medical clinic at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and continued in this laboratory. A preliminary report of the methods employed for the production of a soluble erysipelas toxin and its behavior when injected intradermally in susceptible persons was published a year ago.1The striking resemblance of the erysipelas toxin to the Dick scarlet fever toxin in its solubility, thermostability and toxigenic power suggested at once its usefulness in active immunization against erysipelas, particularly of patients who suffered repeated attacks. The results of such preventive measures against recurrent erysipelas