Summary
A high percentage of serums from patients in the early stages of syphilis gave complement fixation reactions with phenolized boiled antigens prepared either from yolk sacs infected with lymphogranuloma venereum or from normal yolk sacs. Such nonsepcific reactions preclude a serological diagnosis of lymphogranuloma venereum.
The nonspecific reactions observed with syphilitic serums were completely eliminated by using phenolized boiled supernate-antigens.
Phenolized boiled supernate-antigens prepared from yolk sacs infected with lymphogranuloma venereum also gave positive complement fixation reactions with the serums of patients recovered from psittacosis and ornithosis. These cross reactions emphasize the close antigenic relationship within the psittacosislymphogranuloma venereum group of viruses.
