Rabies Immunization in Animals and Man - An Overview

Introduction: Rabies is an acute, progressive and fatal encephalomyelitis caused by neurotrophic virus, belongs to genus Lyssavirus. Material and methods: The information presented here has been compiled from various published resources available on Medline, Pubmed Central, Science Direct and other scientific databases. Results: The existing literature highlights that rabies affects all warm-blooded animals and transmitted through the bite of an animal which inoculates the virus into the wounds. Accurate and rapid diagnosis is necessary for early treatment, and effective prevention and control measures. Pre and post-bite immunisation by rabies vaccine along with immunoglobulins therapy is advisable. The population at risk is always advised to take preventive rabies vaccine. Vaccinations available in endemic areas are live attenuated or inactivated, DNA and recombinant vaccines. Conclusions: Various pre and post-bite therapeutic and preventive measures are being discussed in detail in this paper along with the vaccine and their inoculation procedures.