A study of candidate rabies vaccines for a national reference preparation for the evaluation of antigenic potency.

An unconcentrated and a concentrated lot of rabies vaccine prepared in Syrian hamster kidney cell culture from the Vnukovo-32 strain have been examined for their suitability as national reference preparations for rabies vaccine. The antigenic potencies of the preparations were assessed by the NIH test using both fixed and street strains of rabies virus and by the method of antibody induction. The candidate vaccines were calibrated in comparative assays with the WHO 3rd International Reference Preparation of Rabies Vaccine (IRP3). The correlation between the level of virus-neutralizing antibody and the resistance of mice to intracerebral challenge with a fixed rabies virus strain was studied. The candidate vaccines were also examined by the thermal degradation test. It was found that both vaccines had appropriate antigenic potency and thermostability to be used as a national reference preparation of rabies vaccine.

Treatment of patients bitten by rabid or suspected rabid wolves with inactivated tissue culture rabies vaccine and rabies gammaglobulin.

During 1972-1976 46 persons in 9 foci were bitten by wolves. 39 of them were immunized with antirabies gammaglobulin and tissue culture rabies vaccine; 7 received culture vaccine only. Rabies in wolves was confirmed clinically or in the laboratory in 8 foci. Bites of dangerous localization: face, head or fingers of the hands, predominantly multiple, were noted in 25 humans; 5 of them were young, 7 to 16 years old. Antirabies gammaglobulin was given to 9 people, predominantly in the dose of 0,5 ml per kg of weight, once on the 1st day after exposure (381-538 IU per kg of weight) to 14 people, once on the 2nd day (706-773 IU) to 3 people, twice on the 2nd and 3rd to 3 people, once on the 3rd and 5th day to 10 people, twice on the 2nd and 3rd day or on the 5th day after exposure. Vaccination course was started 24 hours after administration of gammaglobulin and predominantly in the dose of 5 ml; it lasted for 25 days and was followed by 3 booster injections on the 10th, 20th and 30th day. Titres of virus neutralizing antibody were tested in dynamics in 39 people immunized with gammaglobulin and tissue culture vaccine. Antirabies gammaglobulin induced some inhibitory effect, but 2-3 booster injections of the tissue culture rabies vaccine completely compensated this effect. During the observation period of 10 months to 5 years all the exposed people remained healthy.