Specific Antibodies in Scarlet Fever

Abstract

I. Agglutinins.?Griinbaum1 seems to have been the first to report on the agglutination of streptococci of scarlet fever by the serums of scarlet-fever patients. He simply states that he was able to isolate a coccus from a case of scarlet fever which agglutinated with scarlet-fever serum. Baginsky and Sommerfeld2 examined the serums of scarlet-fever patients in the third to the sixth week of the disease, for specific agglutinins of streptococci, which were cultivated from cases of scarlet fever. Their results were absolutely negative. At about the same time Moser and von Pirquet* found that in 52 per cent of the cases examined the serum caused marked agglutination of scarlatinal streptococci. The serum from cases other than scarlet fever gave the reaction in a much smaller percentage and only on higher dilution. Salge and Hasenknopf4 made a comprehensive study of this question. They found that emulsions of streptococci of scarlet fever were markedly agglutinated by the serum of scarlatina in a dilution as high as 1:500, whereas the reaction failed with streptococci from other sources, even with a lesser dilution of the serum. This specific property of the serum vanishes toward the end of convalescence. Dopters denies the specific relation of scarlet-fever serum toward homologous streptococci. In his hands streptococci of various origin were agglutinated by the serum of scarlet-fever patients and indeed in some cases the serum did not react with streptococci from scarlet-fever cases. Dopter reaches the conclusion that the streptococcus is not the specific agent of the disease. Detot,6 and Detot and Boucart7 arrived at similar results. Since the agglutination is not specific they reject its application as a diagnostic means and deny the r61e of the streptococcus in the etiology of scarlet fever.