Impact of general anaesthesia on immune response to first rabies vaccination in seronegative domestic cats.

BACKGROUND

Despite common concerns, evidence that anaesthesia impairs vaccine efficacy remains limited. This study assessed the impact of general anaesthesia on the immune response to rabies vaccination in cats.

METHODS

Thirty-five healthy female cats (6-12 months old) undergoing elective spaying were enrolled. Group 1 (n = 25) received an inactivated, adjuvanted rabies vaccine at the end of anaesthesia; group 2 (n = 11) was vaccinated outside the peri-anaesthetic period. Rabies-neutralising antibody titres were measured by the fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation test 1 month post-vaccination in both groups. In group 1, immune gene expression (tumour necrosis factor-α [TNF-α], interleukin-6 [IL-6] and C‒X‒C motif chemokine ligand 10 [CXCL10]) was assessed by qPCR following ex vivo blood stimulation with the vaccine solution.

RESULTS

All cats seroconverted with titres greater than 0.5 IU/mL, with no significant difference between the groups. TNF-α expression was significantly upregulated after stimulation at both time points in group 1. No induction of IL-6 or CXCL10 was observed.

LIMITATIONS: This study used a single vaccine and a single anaesthetic protocol in a homogeneous group of healthy young cats. As such, the generalisability of the findings may be limited.

CONCLUSION

Under these controlled conditions, anaesthesia did not impair innate or adaptive immune responses to rabies vaccination. Simultaneous vaccination and anaesthesia may therefore be acceptable in contexts such as sterilisation campaigns in stray or aggressive cats.