Toxin-Production As Related to the Clinical Severity of Diphtheria
Open Access
- 1 November 1941
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Journal of Immunology
- Vol. 42 (3) , 353-360
- https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.42.3.353
Abstract
Summary: C. diphtheriae elaborates relatively little toxin in the presence of concentrations of iron present in the throat. In the average case of mild diphtheria comparatively small amounts are probably formed. Severe (gravis) diphtheria may result from infection with strains able to produce more toxin in the presence of abundant iron. Three non-gravis types have been shown to produce approximately 3 MLD/ml under these conditions, whereas a gravis type produced 40 MLD. It is probable that a difference of this order is sufficient to explain observed variations in the clinical severity of the disease.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: