[Method of setting up the bacterial lysis reaction of Neisseria meningitidis strains]

A new method for making the reaction of the bacterial lysis of N. meningitidis strains has been developed, this method differing insignificantly from that recommended by the World Health Organization. The article presents the detailed descriptions of the preparation of Dulbecco's solution to be used in this reaction; the techniques of testing the sera of baby rabbits for the absence of antimeningococcal activity (the sera without such activity are used as the source of complement); the preparation of the meningococcal culture and the human sera under test for making the reaction; the techniques of making the controls and evaluating the results. This investigation has revealed that the reaction is highly sensitive and sero-group-specific. It has also confirmed the data on the presence of inherent bactericidal activity in some human sera after thermal inactivation and on the prozone phenomenon in the sera with high titers. This reaction has been used for the characterization of the sera of volunteers immunized with meningococcal bivalent vaccine A+C manufactured in the USSR.