on the serological diagnosis using the conventional Widal test, the correct interpretation of the results of which is beset with many difficulties. The discovery by Felix and Pitt (1934) of a Vi antigen of B. typhosus, and its serumcounterpart Vi antibody in the sera of typhoid patients and carriers, opened up a new serological approach to the problem of diagnosis of typhoid infection. Bensted ...

From the Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Address reprint requests to: W. John Judd, FIBMS, MIBiol, Professor of Immunohematology, Department of Pathology, UH-2G332, University of Michigan Medical Center, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0054; e-mail: johnjudd@umich.edu. Received for publication November 2, 2005; accepted No...

The knowledge of serological reactions has opened a field of research dealing with the specific configurations existing in the chemical constituents of organisms. The results of agglutinin and lysin reactions and the use of the absorption method have disclosed an unexpected variety of structures as exemplified by the existence of differently reacting groups in a single kind of cells, of differe...

Agglutinins are formed within the draining lymph nodes of mice, following intradermal injections of killed cultures of microorganisms.

1. Following repeated inhalations of the degenerated non-virulent "R" forms of Type II pneumococcus, no type specific antibodies can be demonstrated in the serum of rabbits. 2. Following repeated inhalations of slightly virulent Type II (SAv) pneumococci, only protective antibodies can be demonstrated in the serum of rabbits. 3. Following repeated inhalations of virulent Type II (Sv) pneumococc...

The combination of anemia in malarial infestations ranges from nutritional deficiency to marrow suppression. An immune hemolytic anemia in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is also a part of this wide-ranging spectrum. But the co-existence of cold agglutinins in a Plasmodium falciparum malaria has only sporadically been reported in literature. We present a case of a patient with falciparum malaria ...

Cold agglutinins are predominately immunoglobulin M autoantibodies that react at cold temperatures with surface antigens on the red blood cell. This can lead to hemagglutination at low temperatures, followed by complement fixation and subsequent hemolysis on rewarming. Development of hemagglutination or hemolysis in patients with cold agglutinins is a risk of cardiac surgery under hypothermia. ...