Quellung Reaction

 

                                                   Bacterial Antigens And Virulence Factors  

 

                                                                     Friedrich Neufeld  

 

 

 

The Quellung reaction was first described in 1902 by the German bacteriologist Friedrich Neufeld, working at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin.

• Neufeld observed that when specific antisera were added to pneumococci, the bacterial capsule appeared swollen and more refractile under the microscope.
• This phenomenon became known as the “Neufeld reaction”, later widely called the Quellung reaction. 

• Over time, the Quellung reaction was applied to other encapsulated organisms such as:

• Haemophilus influenzae
• Neisseria meningitidis

 

 

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