Identification of Toxinogenic C. diphtheriae with Fluorescent Antitoxin: Demonstration of Its Nonspecificity.

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Abstract
1. Immunofluorescent staining of various Corynebacteria and other microorganisms with fluorescein labelled diphtheria antitoxin resulted in staining of toxinogenic and atoxinogenic strains of C. diphtheriae, as well as of certain other Corynebacteria and unrelated microorganisms. 2. Specificity of this staining for identification of toxinogenic C. diphtheriae could not be improved by alterations in conditions of staining, or by chemical manipulation of antitoxin solutions. 3. This lack of specificity is felt to be due to multiple non-antitoxic (accessory) antibodies present in the antitoxin preparations which cross-react with a variety of bacterial antigens. 4. It is suggested that stainable diphtheria toxin may not be present at or on the surface of viable, intact diphtheria organisms, and specific identification of toxinogenic C. diphtheriae by fluorescent antitoxin may not be possible. 5. On the basis of data presented here, this technic as currently described would seem to offer little more than a gram stain to the diagnostic bacteriology of diphtheria.

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