10 August Termination of the exterior alterations on the
prisoners’ Block 50 in Buchenwald concentration
camp.
16 August Opening of the Division for Typhus and Virus
Research. Transfer of the head of the department,
SS Sturmbannfuehrer Dr. Ding to Buchenwald.
Beginning of the preliminary work for production.
20 September First infection of 3 guinea pigs with
typhus-infected blood, strain Bu I. Up to the end
of the year 8 successful infections from this
strain and positive adaptation of the strain to
mice (with only 2 infections due to lack of these
experimental animals), as well as to the lungs of
rabbits through mice with the brains of guinea
pigs as starting material.
24 September Isolation of the strain Bu II on 3 guinea pigs with
typhus-infected blood. After successful adaptation
at the end of the year 8th infection. Performance
of 4 infections of mice. Great quantities of
standard type Rickettsia. Furthermore successful
adaptation of the strain Bu II to the lungs of
rabbits through mice.
9 October Due to lack of mice experiment to adapt the mixed
strains Bu I and Bu II directly from infected
brains of guinea pigs to the lungs of rabbits. At
the end of the year this strain is contained fully
virulent in the 6th infection of rabbits. Since
the 5th infection, particularly, great quantities
of Rickettsia on the lungs of rabbits. The results
of the direct adaptation experiments are being
checked by pathogenic and skin virulence tests.
12 October Reported to the Hygiene Institute of the Waffen SS
that the experiments for the breeding of
Rickettsia strains on the lungs of rabbits were
successful and production was only handicapped by
the lack of the refrigerator and of the Calabeius
meat-triturator model.
22 October Isolation and transfer to guinea pigs of the strain
Bu IV of subjects infected with typhus after
strain Bu III had died during the first infection.
In this case the lack of mice was once more
especially noticeable.
First half of Outbreak of an epidemic among 375 recently supplied
November mice to which 289 animals succumbed within a few
days. As the remaining mice were not healthy
either, they were killed.
11 November Vaccination of rabbits with infected lungs of mice.
Later on, performance of two more infections of
rabbits. Experiments are a complete success; large
quantities of Rickettsia with well-developed
bacilli-shaped elements on the lungs of the
rabbits.
30 November Successful direct adaptation of the strain Bu IV
from the brains of infected guinea pigs to the
lungs of rabbits. After performance of another
infection of rabbits, mixing of the strain with
the strain Bu I and Bu II. All infections continue
to be successfully carried out.
4 December Experiment, by making use of the night frosts and by
using the handshake technique without refrigerator
and without Calabeius, to produce the first sample
of vaccine. For this purpose, lungs of rabbits of
the 5th or 6th infection series of the mixed
strain Bu I and Bu II, which are rich in
Rickettsia, were used.
14 December Centrifugation of the suspension produced on 4
December.
15 December Starting of the refrigerator which had arrived in
the meantime. Result of the examination of the
sediment of the vaccine produced on 4 December:
after 2 hours of centrifugation great quantities
of Rickettsia (bacilli-shaped, point-shaped,
dumbell-shaped). The sterility control proved the
suspension free from bacteria.
17 December 4 guinea pigs were given intraperitoneal injections
of 1 cc. of vaccine each, in order to check
whether the vaccines produced on 4 December agreed
with them. The guinea pigs did not show any
alterations of voracity nor of temperature and
were still alive at the end of the year.
24 December Vaccination of a series of 10 guinea pigs, with our
own vaccine and Giroud vaccine, in order to infect
them later on with typhus-infected blood.
29 December The reactions for skin virulence according to Giroud
show a virulence of the suspension at a dilution
of 1:2.000 to 1:4.000.
For the performance of the breeding experiments 56 mice, 134 guinea
pigs, and 112 rabbits were used up to the present date.
In the serological department 1226 proteus OX 19 agglutinations, 3
Gruber-Widal tests, and 4 Takata-Ara reactions were performed for the SS
infirmary and Buchenwald concentration camp and its branch camps.
For our own requirements up to this date, about 1,500 cubic cm. of
typhoid-paratyphus B deposits have been produced, in order to reduce the
power of resistance of the experimental animals.