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The international standard for anti-smallpox serum
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
|January 1, 1970
Summary
An international collaborative assay established a freeze-dried human plasma pool as the International Standard for Anti-Smallpox Serum. This standard provides a consistent unit of measurement for smallpox antibody activity.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Public Health
Background:
- Smallpox posed a significant global health threat, necessitating standardized methods for assessing immunity.
- Accurate measurement of anti-smallpox antibodies was crucial for vaccine efficacy evaluation and disease control efforts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish an international standard for anti-smallpox serum to ensure consistent potency measurements.
- To evaluate the suitability of a pooled, freeze-dried convalescent human plasma for standardization.
Main Methods:
- Collection and pooling of 63 convalescent human plasma samples from smallpox patients.
- Freeze-drying of the pooled plasma into ampoules for distribution.
- International collaborative assay involving 11 laboratories across 6 countries to assess serum potency.
Main Results:
- Results from 10 laboratories showed general consistency, validating the pooled plasma's suitability.
- One laboratory reported exceptionally low potencies, suspected to be due to using a different virus strain.
- The freeze-dried plasma was officially established as the International Standard for Anti-Smallpox Serum by the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization.
Conclusions:
- The established International Standard for Anti-Smallpox Serum provides a reliable reference for quantifying smallpox antibody activity.
- Standardization facilitates comparability of results across different laboratories and assays.
- Further investigation is needed to understand the divergence in results related to virus strain differences.