Antibody responses to Fermi antirabies vaccine in 21 patients bitten by a rabid jackal.

In a village in Upper Egypt, 21 persons were bitten by a rabid jackal. All received antirabies vaccine of the Fermi type within a few hours after the exposure. Antirabies hyperimmune serum was not administered. Three of the 21 victims died on days 16, 17 and 27 after exposure. Blood samples were obtained from 19 of the 21 bitten persons 5 days after completion of a series of 20 vaccine doses. Sera were tested for rabies antibodies by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. All 19 persons developed rabies antibodies detectable by these techniques. IFAT titres ranged from 128 to greater than or equal to 1024. ELISA antiglycoprotein titres were generally low, ranging from 0.7 to 18 iu/ml of serum.