THE USE OF YELLOW FEVER VIRUS MODIFIED BY IN VITRO CULTIVATION FOR HUMAN IMMUNIZATION

The response of rhesus monkeys to a subcutaneous inoculation with varying amounts of virus modified by prolonged cultivation in vitro has been studied. The tissue components of the medium consisted of chick embryo tissue containing minimal amounts of nervous tissue. The immunity produced in monkeys, as measured by the antibody titer developed, has no relation to the amount of virus inoculated. Monkeys inoculated subcutaneously with the tissue culture virus are rendered immune to a subsequent injection of a highly virulent yellow fever virus. This resistance is already present 7 days after vaccination. The subcutaneous inoculation of the culture virus into immune persons leads to a substantial increase of the serum antibody titer. The results of vaccinating eight normal persons with culture virus are presented. The reactions were minimal. The highest temperature recorded following vaccination was 37.4°C. The sera taken from the eight vaccinated persons 2 to 4 weeks after inoculation with the tissue culture virus showed the presence of yellow fever antibodies.