Cyril Leslie Oakley, 20 June 1907--27 March 1975

Cyril Leslie Oakley was an eminent immunologist with an international reputation that had been built up at the Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, by his work on the analysis of the filtrable antigenic factors produced by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Clostridium . Although medically qualified, Oakley never became deeply involved in medical practice, but maintained throughout his life a great fondness for experimental laboratory work, which he always performed with meticulous care and rigorous attention to accuracy.

Comparative antigenicity and immunogenicity of A/USSR/77 influenza vaccines in normal and primed mice

In response to the threat of wide-spread epidemics of influenza in the United States due to the A/USSR/77 strain of virus, vaccines containing A/USSR/77 virus were prepared by four manufacturers. The vaccines were standardized by immunological measurements of viral hemagglutinin and were tested for their ability to induce serum hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies in mice and to protect the animals against challenge infection with A/USSR/77 virus. Whole-virus and subunit virus vaccines were found to be equally efficacious, in contrast to our previous findings with vaccines prepared from other influenza virus strains. The effect of priming animals by infection with representative viruses of earlier eras on their response to A/USSR/77 vaccines was also studied. Enhanced responses were noted to both subunit and whole-virus A/USSR/77 vaccines in animals primed with viruses prevalent before 1957; higher antibody titers were induced with the subunit vaccine. A high degree of heterologous protection to A/USSR/77 challenge infection was found in mice primed with virus strains having hemagglutinin antigens unlike those of A/USSR/77 virus. Comparison of the responses of mice with those of humans inoculated with the same vaccines showed a similarity in many instances, with higher responses in those individuals primed with H0N1 and H1N1 viruses than in younger vaccinees.

Immunity to influenza in ferrets. XI. Cross-immunity between A/Hong Kong/68 and A/England/72 viruses: serum antibodies produced by infection or immunization

The degree of immunity due to cross-reactions between antibody to influenza virus A/Hong Kong/1/68 and A/England/42/72 was studied in ferrets. Ferrets were immunized with the viruses by either live infection or by inoculation with inactivated virus vaccines. The vaccines were given with Freund's incomplete adjuvant or were given to ferrets previously infected with influenza virus A/PR/8/34. As a result of these immunizations the animals all produced similar titres of serum HI antibody to the immunizing virus, although the degree of cross-reaction with the other virus strain was variable. After immunization the animals were challenged by infection with an A/Eng/42/72-like virus and their degree of immunity was measured. It was found that the greatest immunity was in ferrets previously infected with the homologous A/Eng/42/72 virus. Animals previously infected with A/HK/68 virus also showed a measurable degree of immunity to A/Eng/42/72 infection, and this was greater than that found in animals given inactivated virus vaccines. The immunity produced by the vaccines was approximately equal, regardless of which vaccine or method of immunization was used. Thus, live infection produced a more effective, broader immunity than did the use of inactivated virus vaccines.