Allergic reactions due to plague vaccine

Abstract

Twenty-two patients had allergic-type reactions, primarily immediate urticaria, following plague vaccine immunization. The contralateral upper arm was involved with striking frequency. None of the reactions was serious, and all responded readily to symptomatic therapy. A reaginic pathogenesis for these reactions could be implicated in only about half of the patients. The precise antigen was not identified, but the plague bacillus or its products, rather than trace substances in the vaccine, was suspected.