Enhancement of Resistance in Mice to Staphylococcal Infection by Preliminary Treatment with a Staphylococcal Extract.

An extract from the supernate of an epidemic strain of staphylococcus which was not an endotoxin was injected intra-abdominally in mice. Twenty hours later the systemic resistance of these mice was significantly enhanced to lethal infections with homologous and heterologous strains of staphylococci and a toxogenic strain of E. coli. This effect was demonstrable in suckling, young and old mice.