Abstract
BackgroundRabies, a zoonosis found throughout the globe, is caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus. The disease is transmitted to humans through the inoculation of the virus present in the saliva of infected mammals. Since its prognosis is usually fatal for humans, nationwide public campaigns to vaccinate dogs and cats against rabies aim to break the epidemiological link between the virus and its reservoirs in Brazil.FindingsDuring 12 months we evaluated the active immunity of dogs first vaccinated (booster shot at 30 days after first vaccination) against rabies using the Fuenzalida-Palácios modified vaccine in the urban area of Botucatu city, São Pauto state, Brazil. Of the analyzed dogs, 54.7% maintained protective titers (≥0.5 IU/mL) for 360 days after the first vaccination whereas 51.5% during all the study period.ConclusionsThe present results suggest a new vaccination schedule for dogs that have never been vaccinated. In addition to the first dose of vaccine, two others are recommended: the second at 30 days after the first and the third dose at 180 days after the first for the maintenance of protective titers during 12 months.
Highlights
Rabies, a zoonosis found throughout the globe, is caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus
Half of the world population (3.5 billion people) lives in areas where there is an increase of dogs, cats and rodents, and the frequency of zoonoses transmitted by these animals is augmented [1]
In Brazil, 140 people died due to rabies between 2001 and 2010, in 40% of these cases the disease was contracted from dogs, in 1.43% from cats, in 53.57% from bats and in 5% of the cases from other animals [6]
Summary
The present results suggest a new vaccination schedule for dogs that have never been vaccinated. At the fourth moment (360 dafv), 54.7% of the dogs had protective antibody titers, a higher value than that found by Soares et al [8] who obtained 35.3% and by Almeida et al [9] who found 18.3% in animals that did not receive the booster dose. When they discussed the determinants for the decline in antibody concentration after vaccination, it was hypothesized that the nutritional status, health status, and genetic ancestry may influence the immune response, the antibody induction and the maintenance of antibody titers in dogs [25]
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