Changes in erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum proteins during experimentally produced erysipelatous arthritis in swine.

The changes in the percentage of serum proteins and erythrocyte sedimentation rates in 14 swine given weekly injections of Erysipelothrix insidiosa or other antigens were studied. A sharp rise in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and in the percentage of alpha globulin occurred at the seventh day after the first injection in seven of the eight pigs which received the viable cultures. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and percentage of alpha globulin then returned to normal. Later, as arthritis developed, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate again increased, but this time the increased rate was accompanied by an increase in the percentage of gamma globulin. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and percentage of serum proteins remained virtually unchanged in the three animals which were given dead erysipelas organisms and in the three animals which were given culture medium alone.