Survey of Immunity by Serologic Methods

Abstract

SEROLOGIC surveys have been widely employed as a means of ascertaining the presence of certain diseases and the state of immunity of specific population groups and for other purposes related to the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Periodic surveys of the immunity status of a population are a valuable means by which public-health officials can assess the effectiveness of their programs of immunization. The Institute of Laboratories of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has conducted 3 such surveys spanning a ten-year period, the years being 1954, 1961 and 1964. The antibodies assayed were diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins in 1954 and . . .