[Use of live Flexner 2a 516M dysentery vaccine for the immunotherapy of acute and chronic dysentery].

Live dysentery vaccine prepared from Sh. flexneri 2a 516 M, a spontaneous mutant, was used for the treatment of 153 patients with acute and chronic dysentery. A single oral administration in a dose of 25 X 10(9) live microbial cells and 2 oral administrations in doses of 25 X 10(9) and 50 X 10(9) live microbial cells did not induce the clinical aggravation of the disease, greatly reduced the time of the reparation of the intestinal mucosa and reduced the frequency and duration of excretion of the infective agent by patients with acute and chronic dysentery, as well as considerably enhanced the levels of IgG, IgM and particularly IgA in the blood and saliva of the vaccinees in comparison with the controls. These data indicate that live dysentery vaccine, when used for the immunotherapy of dysentery, possesses high immunological and antibacterial effectiveness.