Bovine leptospirosis: The detection of haemolysin inhibitors in sera from experimentally and naturally infected cattle

Abstract

Extract

Strains of some serotypes of Leptospira produce, haemolysins with strong affinities for ruminant erythrocytes. The haemolysins are heat-labile, effective against erythrocytes after relatively long periods of incubation, and generally concentrated in extracellular culture fluids (Russell, 1956; Alexander et al., 1956; Valentine et al., 1964). Russell (1956) reported that sera of rabbits immunized with a haemolysin producing strain of serotype pomona contained, in addition to agglutinins, inhibitors which neutralized the effects of the haemolysin. No corresponding studies in cattle appear to have been reported.