Development of an alternative method for testing the immunogenicity of diphtheria vaccines.

The immunogenicity of the diphtheria component of 73 commercial vaccines from five different manufacturers was tested by the toxin neutralization test (TNT) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) developed in our laboratory. A comparison of the antibody levels measured by both assays showed a very good correlation (r = 0.95, p < 0.001). The results suggest that the proposed ELISA is a reliable, simple and economical alternative to the TNT in guinea pigs. Also, the ELISA was found to measure IgG antibody levels as low as 5.5 x 10(-5) IU ml-1. To evaluate the possibility of accelerating the active immunization during the activity test of vaccines, an alternative schedule using one single human dose was assayed. A very good correlation was observed between the IgG antibody response obtained with this schedule and with the traditional programme. Therefore, the cost and the time required to perform the activity test may be considerably reduced when both the rapid immunization schedule and the ELISA are used.