Agglutinin Response to Intradermal Tests for Sensitivity to the Brucella

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Abstract
Summary: Intradermal tests for sensitivity to the Brucella were made on 193 male patients with negative agglutination tests. Of this number, 136 (70 per cent) were negative and 57 (30 per cent) were positive. Agglutination tests for brucellosis made on the 136 skin-test-negative patients 2 weeks after negative intradermal tests were negative in every instance. Agglutination tests for brucellosis made on 57 patients 2 weeks after a positive intradermal test demonstrated that 17 (30 per cent) developed agglutinins with titres ranging from 1:20 to 1:1280. The agglutinin titre, observed in the sensitized patients after an intradermal test, either disappeared or declined markedly in from 1 to 3 months following the test. Agglutination tests carried out on patients 4 and 6 weeks after the intradermal tests did not detect additional positive reactions. The results of simultaneous intradermal tests with Brucellergen and a diluted Brucella vaccine containing 20 million cells were comparable to those obtained when a single antigen was employed. Complement-fixation and agglutination tests made on normal guinea-pigs 4 weeks following the intradermal injection of 0.1 ml either Brucellin or Brucellergen remained negative. One guinea-pig, however, injected with diluted Brucella vaccine developed complement-fixing antibodies in a serum dilution of 1:16. None of the guinea-pigs acquired dermal sensitivity to the antigens as demonstrated by intradermal tests with Brucellergen.
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