Clinical evaluation of purified vero-cell rabies vaccine in patients bitten by rabid animals in India.

Fifty-five individuals bitten by rabid animals were administered purified vero-cell rabies vaccine (PVRV) at WHO Collaborative Centre for Rabies Epidemiology for South-East Asia at National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi to test its immunogenicity, inocuity, safety and clinical efficacy. Fifty-two (94.5 per cent) of these individuals underwent complete course of treatment. Sera samples collected prior to the commencement of treatment showed all these persons to be sero-negative for antibody against Rabies virus. However mean titre of 2.44 I.U./ml, 7.76 I.U./ml and 10.77 I.U./ml were detected after third, fourth and sixth injections, respectively of PVRV. Persistance of protective titres of this antibody could be demonstrated even after 15 months of treatment. Of 327 inoculations, local and general reactions were observed after 10.6 per cent inoculations. All these cases were followed up for periods between 7 and 25 months and were, alive and healthy till the end of observation period, thereby proving the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing rabies.