1965 Volume 14 Issue 12 Pages 666-674,713-71
Report 14 informed that local inflammations elicited by other antigens can not produce the typical modification of reactivity to tuberculin. In the present experiments, the influence of repeated tuberculin injections on the tuberculin negative site was investigated. 1) Influence of tuberculin injection on the subsequent tuberculin reaction at the same site in the tuberculin non-sensitive persons: Five infants, who had never received B. C. G. inoculation and in whom tuberculin reaction was negative, were injected with tuberculin in the new site of the right forearm and with a control solution (diluted Sauton's culture medium) in the corresponding new site of the left forearm. Every two weeks these two materials were injected in the same site five times respectively. In one infant a pallid erytheme with slight induration was observed after 8 to 12 hours at the fourth and fifth injection, buy no typical early reaction was observed in any of the infants. Thereafter, 0.04mg of B. C. G. was inoculated in these infants. After one month tuberculin reaction coverted to positive in all infants. Then tuberculin was injected in three sites on the forearms, namely, the two sites where tuberculin or the control solution had previously been injected and a new site as a control. Reactions were observed 4, 8, 24 and 48 hours after injection. The reaction pa tterns were almost the same at these three sites. No early reaction was observed at the site where tuberculin gad repeatedly been injected when the infant was not yet sensitive to it. 2) Influence of tuberculin injection on the subsequent tuberculin reaction at the same site in the subjects who were sensitive to tuberculin in the past but did not react to it at the time of the present experiment: A) 1/2,000 old tuberculin was injected in a new site on the right forearm in 23 school children. They had previously received B. C. G. inoculation and had once showed positive tuberculin reactions. But at the present experiment no reaction to the used tuberculin solution was observed. After one month tuberculin was injected again in the same site and in a new site as a control. Reactions were observed 4, 8, 24 and 48 hours after injection. At the repeatedly injected site early reactions and accelerated, intensified delayed reactions were observed in 17 out of 23 children in contrast to the new site. B) 1/50,000 old tuberculin was injected in a new site on the right upper arm in 11 adults, who had showed positive reaction to 1/2,000 old tuberculin. At the present experiment they all showed complete negative reaction to the 1/50,000 old tuberculin after 48 hours. After one month 1/2, 000 old tuberculin was injected in the same site and in a corresponding new site on the left upper arm. The observation times were the same in the first. At the previously injected site early reactions were observed in 8 out of 11 cases in contrast to the new site. In summary, these results show that when the injected subject was not sensitive to tuberculin, tuberculin injection had on influence on subsequent tuberculin reaction at the same site. And in contrast to this, when the injected subject was suspected to be sensitized to tuberculin, tuberculin injection can modify the reactivity of he skin area, even if it elicits no positive reaction. Consequently, it seems that the alteration of the reactivity of skin area by tuberculin injection needs the systemic tuberculin sensitivity as a postulate, but does not always need positive local reaction.
