Immunogenicity of glutaraldehyde inactivated pertussis vaccine

The immunogenicity of different types of glutaraldehyde inactivated pertussis vaccine (GIPV) preparations made by inactivation of Bordetella pertussis organisms with different concentrations of glutaraldehyde for variable periods at room temperature and conventional heat inactivated pertussis vaccine (HIPV) was evaluated with regard to production of agglutinins and neutralizing antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT). The different types of GIPV preparations had variable intracerebral mouse potency which depended upon the conditions of inactivation with glutaraldehyde. The agglutinin production in mice against various types of GIPV preparations and HIPV were very similar irrespective of the potency of the preparations. The agglutinins were produced against all the three major agglutinogens 1, 2 and 3 as the preparations were made from B. pertussis strain 10536 (serotype 1,2,3). The titres of agglutinins produced against adjuvanted preparations were slightly higher than those against non-adjuvanted preparations. Neutralizing antibodies against PT were produced for eight out of nine types of GIPV preparations while these antibodies were not produced for conventional HIPV.