1 Department of Bacteriology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, and Department of Obstetrics, Rothschild-Hadassah-University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel
Titers of bactericidal and agglutinating antibodies for Escherichia coli O55 and O111, and for Shigella sonnei, are compared with titers of diphtheria antitoxin in blood and milk of mothers and cord blood of their newborn infants.
These antibacterial antibodies showed quite limited placental transfer and a relatively free passage to the milk.
Diphtheria antitoxin is almost unlimited in transfer to the milk and to the cord blood; sometimes to even higher titer than in the maternal blood.
Quantitative absorption experiments proved the coexistence in sera from normal adults of specific and nonspecific antibodies for the somatic antigens of Escherichia coli O55 and O111, Shigella sonnei and Salmonella schottmuelleri.
Titrations of complement and bactericidal tests were carried out in the presence of Ca and Mg in order to exclude error originating from a lack of these cations. The tests showed lowered titers of complement and bacteriolysins in the cord sera.
Submitted on May 19, 1958