Mantoux Reaction

MANTOUX REACTION (Mantoux), proposed and described in 1908 by Mantoux and almost simultaneously by Mendel, serves for the purpose of diagnosing tuberculosis in humans and animals, and in animals this reaction is very widely applied, since the skin reaction in them is not always applicable. Koch's Old Tuberculin is injected into the skin. In humans, injection is usually performed into the skin of the front surface of the arm. As the initial dilution, the fourth dilution is usually used. If the injection is done correctly_T a white blister of elastic consistency immediately forms on the skin; if the fluid got under the skin, no such blister is formed. The result of the reaction is observed after 24-48 hours. In case of a positive reaction, an infiltrate and hyperemia are obtained. The size of the infiltrate (diameter crosswise and lengthwise) is determined with a millimeter ruler, in addition attention is paid to the nature of the infiltrate (hard, soft). A papule with a diameter larger than 5 mm is considered a positive reaction. In case of a negative reaction, stronger solutions of tuberculin are tried. The advantage of this test is that a positive reaction does not cause strong general symptoms. Cows are injected, like humans, with 0.1 cm³ of Old Tuberculin into the thickness of the skin of the neck. Previously, the thickness of the skin fold is measured with a special caliper. When determining the strength of the reaction, the skin fold is measured again; the strength of the reaction is judged by the amount of skin thickening. The thickening can reach 10-20 mm.