diphtheria antitoxin

An antitoxin is an antibody that forms in the body to neutralize a specific bacterial poison, or toxin. When an animal, typically a horse, is injected with a toxin, its blood develops a high concentration of antitoxins, which can be prepared as an antiserum for medical use.1

The first antitoxin, developed for diphtheria, was discovered in 1890 by Emil von Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato. Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which produces an exotoxin that damages the body's cells and can form a leathery membrane in the respiratory tract. Antitoxins are crucial for treating diphtheria, as well as other conditions like botulism, gas gangrene, and tetanus. An agent that prevents or modifies diphtheria is called an antidiphtheritic, with antitoxin being a prime example.123