[Importance of humoral immunity indices in determining the Rickettsia prowazekii carrier state].

Experiments showed the possibility of making indirect conclusions concerning rickettsial carrier state by the method of determination of complement-fixing antibodies to R. prowazeki in the blood serum. Though not indicative of carrier state in individual animals, these antibodies, their dynamics and titers gave the evidence of group carrier state in cotton rats in respect of the causative agent of typhus. The number of animals carrying R. prowazeki increased with the rise of antibody titers. Negative seroconversion indicated the elimination of the causative agent from the body of the animal. The experimental results were confirmed by the data on the dynamics of the immunological structure of population, as well as by information contained in the literature on this problem.