An evaluation of second generation tissue culture rabies vaccines for use in man: a four-vaccine comparative immunogenicity study using a pre-exposure vaccination schedule and an abbreviated 2-1-1 postexposure schedule

Abstract

In a double-blind comparative trial the immunogenicity of three new tissue culture rabies vaccines was evaluated, using a commercial human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV) lot as the reference. Two different vaccination regimens, a pre-exposure schedule, and an abbreviated 2-1-1 postexposure schedule (two doses of the vaccine applied bilaterally on day 0, with subsequent single doses given on days 7 and 21) were employed. In both, two of the new vaccines, purified chick embryo cell vaccine and purified Vero rabies vaccine, induced an antibody response equivalent to that of HDCV, while the geometric mean titres for the fetal bovine kidney cell vaccine were somewhat lower. The 2-1-1 regimen, a candidate regimen for economical rabies postexposure treatment, evoked a rapid and high titre antibody response with all four vaccines, peaking on day 14.