[Macrophage migration inhibition test in guinea pigs infected with Rickettsia prowazekii].

The process of infection caused by R. prowazekii (strain Breinl) in guinea-pigs was accompanied by the development of delayed type hypersensitivity manifested by the macrophage migration inhibition test (MMIT). This reaction could be detected on week 2 after the subcutaneous inoculation of the infective agent, achieved its maximum on weeks 3-4 with individual fluctuations taken into account and decreased by week 5 remaining at a low level during the whole period of the study (63 days). The period when the MMIT was most pronounced correlated with the period of the maximum increase in the titers of complement-fixing antibodies and the presence of the infective agent in the animal body.