[A method of assessing immunogenicity of preparations for plague prevention]

A rapid, economic, and simple method for assessing the immunogenic properties of preparations for plague prevention is proposed. It is based on amplification of the bactericidal activity of peritoneal macrophages of experimental animals in the course of forming antiplague immunity. The increase in intracellular killing was assessed by the index of macrophage activation, which permits a tentative assessment of the immunogenic properties of the agent. This method is 6 times more rapid and requires 5 times less animals than routine methods and involves no manipulations with virulent strains of Yersinia pestis.