Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
During World War II, Heidelberger became involved in an effort by military physicians to develop a pneumonia vaccine, consisting of a combination of purified polysaccharides of four specific pneumococcal types, for the immunization of troops. For this article, Heidelberger and one of his wartime collaborators, Colin MacLeod, along with M. M. Di Lapi, studied how the body reacted if injected with more than four types of specific polysaccharides (a combination of four types were administered during the military field trial) at one time, namely with specific polysaccharides of the six most common types of pneumonia. The authors found that such a vaccine was as effective as one made of four pneumococcal polysaccharide antigens in stimulating an immune response.
Periodical. Heidelberger, Michael, Colin M. MacLeod, and Marie M. Di Lapi. "The Human Antibody Response to Simultaneous Injection of Six Specific Polysaccharides of Pneumococcus." Journal of Experimental Medicine 88, 3 (September 1948): 369-372. Article. 4 Images.. Journal of Experimental Medicine