[Treatment of chronic recurrent erysipelas with streptococcal vaccine]

One hundred patients suffering from relapsing erysipelas were treated with streptococcal vaccine consisting of a phenol- und heat-inactivated mixture of 12 different types of streptococci. Simultaneously the entry point was cured and general disposition and local terrain factors were treated. In the majority of cases further relapses were avoided or their frequency reduced. The results of the treatment with streptococcal vaccine were compared with those of long-term benzathine-penicillin therapy in 47 patients. The vaccine has proved to be equivalent to the penicillin therapy and can be recommended as a real alternative to it for prevention of further infections and late sequelae, especially those of chronic lymphedema. The beneficial therapeutic effect of the vaccine is probably attributable to a non-specific immune stimulation. A partial cellular immune defect involving the protective M-antigen together with simultaneous partial abnormalities of immune reactivity is discussed as a cause of relapsing erysipelas.