Value of Pre-Exposure Rabies Human Diploid Cell Vaccine for Individuals Living in Areas Hyperendemic for Rabies

摘要

Rabies human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV) has been a major advance for rabies pre-exposure and postexposure therapy. When rabies antibody is present at the time of exposure, rabies human immunoglobulin (RIG) therapy is not recommended and two doses of HDCV three days apart provide adequate therapy. The importance of the IgG component of rabies antibody as the effective antibody was proposed with duck embryo vaccine. In 1980, 22 people at the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt, were exposed (five bitten and 17 licked) to a puppy which died of rabies on the third day of observation. All 22 exposed individuals received six doses of HDCV, since the two dose boosting course for a person with antibody at the time of exposure had not yet been advised. All individuals tested at day 24 had IGg antibody titres. These data provide further assurance that pre-exposure vaccination with HDCV provides significant antibody titres which rapidly rise with postexposure treatment. Reprints. (aw)