An Influenza Index on Periodic Determination of Average Antibody Titers of Population Samples

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Abstract
Summary: A serological index for the study of influenza, the use of a spectrophotometer for facilitating the estimation of hemagglutinin and antibody-titers, and a simplified method of calculating hemagglutinin and antibody-titers are proposed. The arithmetic mean of the antibody level of the population was periodically determined by photoelectric Hirst titrations on serum-pools. The antibody-levels of the civilian and military population of Oahu, T.H. were studied over a period of five months, following an epidemic of influenza B and during a period of mass vaccination carried on by the Army. The index demonstrated the generally elevated level of influenzal antibody-titer just after an epidemic, and the subsequent decline of that titer. The general antibody-response to mass-vaccination and the comparative antigenic effectiveness of the PR 8 and Lee components of the vaccine were demonstrated. The study also indicated an antigenic difference between the Lee strain of influenza B and a local strain of influenza B isolated here during a recent epidemic.

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