Safety and immunogenicity of the intradermal Thai red cross (2-2-2-0-1-1) post exposure vaccination regimen in the Indian population using purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine.

PURPOSE: To test the immunogenicity of the WHO recommended "2-2-2-0-1-1" post-exposure rabies vaccination regimen in Indian subjects to determine the feasibility of replacing crude sheep brain nerve tissue rabies vaccine with modern tissue culture rabies vaccine at major anti-rabies treatment centers throughout India.

METHODS

Purified chick embryo cell vaccine (PCECV) was administered in the dosage of 0.1 mL per site to 53 Indian subjects.

RESULTS

All subjects produced rabies antibodies above 0.5 IU/mL by day 14 post-vaccination. Only minor adverse reactions including swelling (6.6%), erythema (5.4%) and pain (1.4%) were observed for which no treatment was required.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that PCECV is safe and highly immunogenic in Indian subjects when administered intradermally as 0.1 mL/site using the "2-2-2-0-1-1" post-exposure regimen.