Abstract
A JOINT committee on tuberculosis of the Medical Research Council and the Agricultural Research Council has issued in the form of a green paper (London: H.M. Stationery Office, 2d. net) observations on the experiment with Spahlinger vaccine in Northern Ireland, the report on which was issued some weeks ago. In this experiment, 11 calves were vaccinated with the Spahlinger anti-tuberculosis vaccine, and 7 calves were kept unvaccinated as controls. Six months after the vaccination, all the calves were given the same dose of virulent tubercle bacilli intravenously. The difference in the effect on the two groups was striking. Of the 7 controls five died of acute tuberculosis within 25-73 days. On the other hand, none of the 11 vaccinated animals died from the acute disease, one died on the 607th day, and the remaining 10 lived until slaughtered on the 783rd-890th day. All, except one, of these were in good condition although found to be tuberculous to greater or less extent. The joint committee concludes that a case has been made out for further investigation, that the number of animals used in the Irish experiment were not enough to give statistically conclusive results, and ‘that the general use of the vaccine should be deferred until a thorough investigation has been made.
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The Spahlinger Tuberculosis Vaccine. Nature 136, 1022 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/1361022c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1361022c0