Frozen Serum

Dr. Bela Schick, Austrian inventor of the "Schick tests" and the toxin-anti-toxin serum for diphtheria, learned last week that his serum could not be permitted to freeze.

At Concord, Mass., 19 children, and at Bridgewater, Mass., 25 children, as a result of the serum developed swollen limbs, sore eyes, nausea. The serum had become congealed in transit from Washington to Boston. The vaccine is made by combining the diphtheria poison with its antidote in such a way as to produce immunity from diphtheria. The freezing separated some of the serum from its antidote, so that the mixture became "moderately poisonous."

The Schick test and serum continued to be used. The children were expected to recover fully.