Rabies vaccination and traffic accidents

摘要

Rabies in travelers returning to western countries is rare but inevitably fatal. In a retrospective study, Menachem et al. found a poor understanding of the consequences of rabies and a low rate of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PreEP) in travelers who were injured by a potentially rabid animal. The authors concluded that PreEP should be considered more often. Improvement of pre-travel advice concerning rabies is mentioned just secondarily.1 We think this order of priority is inadequate. Specific advice concerning rabies is crucial. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PoEP) in resource poor settings is often unsafe and difficult to access and failures do occur.2-3 In view of these disadvantages of PoEP, PreEP should be recommended in addition to comprehensive advice. It remains unclear whether a traveler might benefit from PreEP in terms of lifesaving or just from facilitating PoEP.