Studies on the K antibody response in rabbits immunized with a pool of five different K antigen-containing Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli K antibody response in rabbits which were immunized with a mixture of E. coli O1K1H7, O6K2a2cH1, O4K12, O6K13H1 and O6K53, or with only one of these strains, was analyzed using indirect hemagglutination. Some K antigens gave generally high antibody response, while others did not. There were not statistically significant difference concerning K antibody response for each of the K antigens when the rabbits were immunized with one strain or a mixture of strains. The information is important for the composition of a future E. coli vaccine containing several K antigens.