Infectious Canine Hepatitis Coincidentally Associated with Vaccination Against Rabies

Abstract

DURING the latter part of December, 1957, and the first half of January, 1958, approximately 1,200 dogs from Santa Cruz County, Calif., were inoculated with chicken embryo rabies vaccine made from the Flury strain of virus in low egg passage. Approximately 1,000 of these dogs were inoculated in special vaccination clinics; the remainder, in local veterinary hospitals. Of the total number of animals vaccinated, 34 became ill from 5 to 18 days after inoculation and 14 died. The clinical picture seen in the affected animals was indistinguishable from that described for infectious canine hepatitis. 2 Because of the widespread prophylactic use of living attenuated rabies virus in the form of low egg passage Flury strain, health authorities and veterinarians alike were interested in the relationship of the vaccine, if any, to the postvaccination illnesses in the dogs. Vaccine produced by a single manufacturer had been used exclusively in the vaccination clinics and to a large extent in the private hospitals. Sample lots of vaccine* were tested