Pseudomonas aeruginosa: prevention better than cure?

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen in certain groups of patients. The use of antibiotics in these patients may be associated with toxic side effects, drug resistance and therapeutic failure. Pseudomonas vaccines have been prepared by many workers and one vaccine has been widely used in clinical trials. Administration of this vaccine was associated with a high incidence of toxic reactions. A new polyvalent pseudomonas vaccine has recently been prepared. We report the reactivity of this polyvalent vaccine in healthy volunteers and compare this with the reactivity of the earlier pseudomonas vaccine reported in the literature. The vaccine is at present being used in burned patients and has been associated with a significant reduction in mortality. We suggest that this new polyvalent vaccine has a low incidence of toxic effects and promises a considerable advance upon earlier vaccines.