Maternal antibodies against rabies in Thai puppies. A preliminary study.

Serum antibodies to rabies virus were measured in 32 Thai puppies before primary vaccination. Only five showed evidence of rabies antibody by ELISA testing and they had no rabies virus neutralizing activity detectable by RFFIT. Immunologic ignorance of these young dogs leaves a large part of the canine population susceptible to rabies. This could be one reason for the failure of canine rabies control efforts in Thailand.