Studies on the toxicity of a variety of human vaccines as measured by laboratory tests.

The results obtained from our laboratory tests for pyrogenic activity on 8 bacterial vaccines are compared with the clinical reactogenicity of the same 8 vaccines in man. It is concluded that, although none of the tests correlate exactly with clinical reactogenicity, the rabbit pyrogenicity test provides the best indication of such activity. The limulus test, although valuable as a means of detecting contaminant endotoxin in pyrogen free preparations appears to be of little value as a gauge of pyrogenicity in bacterial vaccines.