Heated, Avirulent Antigens for Complement-Fixation Tests with Certain Encephalitis Viruses

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Abstract
A simple method is described for producing avirulent mouse-brain antigens for complement-fixation tests in human encephalitides, by application of heat at 60[degree] C for 30 min. Antigens were tested from St. Louis, Japanese B and Russian spring-summer, encephalitis, louping-ill and West Nile, Western, Eastern and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis viruses. The heated antigens retained for most of the viruses employed a sufficiently high titer to warrant their use, since they were also specific, not anticomplementary, could be lyophilized and were avirulent and thus could be handled with safety.