Studies on Immunity to Asiatic Cholera: I. Introduction

The general question of immunity to Asiatic cholera is discussed. I t is concluded that present evidence is consistent with the view that a low grade immunity is produced by prophylactic inoculation with vaccine. I t is pointed out that either or both an antitoxic and an antibacterial immunity may be functional in effective immunity to the disease and that the latter is difficult to reconcile with the enteric character of the infection in the absence of leakage of humoral antibody into the lumen of the bowel. The 71 strains of vibrios available for this investigation, 51 strains of Vibrio cholerae, 14 strains of E1 Tor vibrios, and 6 strains of water vibrios, are described. There was a considerable degree of biochemical heterogeneity in the group; of the 51 cholera strains, only 15 were found to be "typical." It is concluded that the cholera vibrios do not make up a biochemically homogeneous group and cannot be sharply characterized by cultural reactions alone. The general question of immunity to Asiatic cholera is discussed. I t is concluded that present evidence is consistent with the view that a low grade immunity is