Abstract
From about 1936 to 1944, Hosoya et al had coducted extensive studies on staphylococcal toxoid, including production of exotoxin and its chemical purification and clinical application of toxoid to human staphylococcal infections. In pre-antibiotic years, this clinical use of toxoid was a sole potential medical measure for treatment of supprative staphylococcal infections, and it threw much light upon therapeutic aspects of so many staphylococcal diseases. The discoveries of various antibiotics including Penicillin since 1948, however, have remarkably reduced the therapeutic value of staphylococcal toxoid because of its delayed type of effectiveness, but subsequent appearance of multi-resistant strains of staphylococci has become an insuperable obstacle in antibiotic therapy for staphylococcal infections. Recently, highly purified staphylococcal toxoid was prepared from cultues of multi-resistant staphylococcal strains in our laboratory and striking beneficial effect was recognized in practical therapy of various forms of resistant staphylococcal infections against antibiotics. I will report here on cases of such infections in which toxoid induced a remarkable therapeutic effect leading to complete recovery and a long lasting immunity against staphylococcal infections.
