Immunization with Inactive Virus of Influenza B: Comparison of Antibody Response with That Produced by Infection

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A group of human volunteers was inoculated subcut. with a single dose of 1 ml. of formalinized influenza B virus prepd. from the allantoic fluid and membranes of infected chick embryos. The antibody titers of pre- and postvaccination serums from 63 vaccinated individuals were compared with the titers of acute and convalescent serum specimens from a group of 70 influenza patients previously studied during an epidemic of influenza B in 1940. The degree of increase in neutralizing antibodies following vaccination or infection was found to be related to the height of the initial antibody titers. Fewer large increases occurred in the vaccinated group than in the cases of influenza, apparently because the initial titers in the former group were higher. However, the subcut. injn. of inactive virus raised the titers of neutralizing antibodies to a level similar to that following infection. The response in complement-fixing antibodies in the vaccinated group was slight; this indicates that the antigenic stimulus produced by the inactive virus was not identical with that of infection. Formalinized allantoic fluid prepns. of influenza B seem to have a high antigenicity as judged by the production of neutralizing antibodies.