The role of allergy in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis remains a controversial subject. Extensive studies on this problem have led to the separation of workers in the field into two definite schools. One group is composed of those who, following the teachings of Pirquet, maintain that a person who has passed through a primary tuberculous infection, as evidenced by roentgenograms and positive reactions to cutaneous tuberculin tests, is better able to withstand future exogenous infections.1
Wallgren1a wrote:
There is no doubt that those children who have successfully passed through a primary tuberculosis are to be regarded as a picked group, who, when exposed to a tuberculous infection, are in a more favorable position than uninfected children. It is generally found that children who are tuberculin-positive do not run any risk, if they are exposed to tuberculous infection.
The opposing school contends that the primary tuberculous infection, regardless of