Abstract
Antibody to the somatic antigen of S. newport was demonstrated by the hemagglutination technique in the sera of 11 premature infants 1 to 2 months old following a nursery outbreak of gastroenteritis. By ultracentrifugal analysis of selected sera from infected infants the antibody activity was exclusively associated with the rapidly sedimenting (19S) gamma M globulin fraction. Although antibody activity was found in the rapidly sedimenting fraction in all maternal sera tested, some antibody activity was also found in the slowly sadimenting immunoglobulin fractions in sera from 2 of 7 mothers suggesting recent or intensive antigenic stimulation. This evidence, coupled with a recent history of gastroenteritis, suggests that one of the mothers may have been the source of the epidemic. The low or absent antibody titers in the infants of these two mothers suggests that the antibody response may have been suppressed by the placental transfer of maternal slowly sedimenting antibody. The usual sequence of immunoglobulin response to protein antigens is contrasted with the response to the somatic antigen of Gram-negative bacteria, and the role of serum antibody in immunity to Gramnegative bacteria is discussed.
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