From Diphtheria to Tetanus: The Development of Evaluation Methods for Sera in Imperial Germany

Abstract

The rapid establishment of a system of control for anti-diphtheria serum in Imperial Germany in 1895 is often seen as a result of the Prussian preference for administrative solutions. Yet, diphtheria was the exception until, in 1903, there was a second official regulation covering sera against tetanus and erysipelas. The anti-tetanus serum had been controlled on a voluntary basis from 1896 onwards, anti-erysipelas serum and tuberculin starting in 1899. Although the evaluation of anti-tetanus serum was ‘definitive and obligatory’¹ — in contrast to sera that were controlled on a ‘facultative and provisory’ basis — it was not integrated into the pharmacopoeia until 1910, after years of negotiation. At first glance, this might seem surprising, as the possibility of curing animals suffering from diphtheria or tetanus by serotherapy was demonstrated by Behring and Kitasato in the same paper published in 1890. Judging by their publications, Behring, Ehrlich and other immunologists worked predominantly on tetanus until 1894, when they began to concentrate on anti-diphtheria serum.