Comparative biological activities of acellular pertussis vaccines produced by Kitasato.

The quality of 14 lots of acellular pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus (AC-PDT) vaccines manufactured by the Kitasato Institute during the period 1987-1990 were investigated. The geometric means of HSU, LPU, and BWDU were 0.078, 0.257, and 7.33 per ml respectively. The potency was higher than 14 IU per ml. These results indicated the consistency of the Kitasato AC-PDT vaccines. The antibody response to the AC-PDT vaccines was measured in primary and secondary vaccinated mice by ELISA. IgG antibody response to FHA and PT was obtained in all immunized mice (P less than 0.001) after the primary injection. In contrast, IgG antibody response to fimbriae 2 showed a significant titer rise (P less than 0.001) after the booster injection. The results indicated that the Kitasato AC-P vaccines consisted of protein, PT and FHA as the major antigens, and a little agglutinogen as the minor antigen.