Antibody responses in rabbits to injections of whole cell, flagella, and flagellin preparations of cholera and noncholera vibrios.

Sera prepared by the injection of living cells, killed cells, flagella, or flagellins of vibrios into rabbits were examined for antibodies which cross-reacted with cholera and noncholera vibrio strains. Antisera to Vibrio cholerae strains agglutinated heterologous V. cholerae strains. They did not agglutinate strains of noncholera vibrios. Sera to noncholera strains agglutinated homologous strains only. There was no evidence that a common antigen was present in the organisms tested. The proposal for a "cholera group of vibrios" based upon sharing of an H antigen between cholera and some noncholera vibrios is held as untenable. It is indicated, however, that the use of serotyping of vibrios could be used as an added tool for better identification or description of vibrios.