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Is Rabies Vaccination Required After Playing With A Dog With Rabies Infection?
Question: My daughter had contact witha dog which was healthy when she was playing with it but died after a week. She did not have any bites. The dog was presumed to have symptoms of rabies on the day it died but that was not confirmed / But my daughter was given Inj. Rabipur on 0 3 5 7 16 th day. But all injections were given in gluteal region. What should be done now? do she needs another booster on 28 th day or did she needsto be tested for antibodies and then booster ? SHE IS 18 YRS OLD.
Brief Answer:
Rabies vaccination
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query. I can understand your concerns.
Purified chick embryo cell vaccine (Rabipur) is one of the three tissue-culture vaccines of choice,available now.
Four 1-mL doses of rabies vaccine (day 0,3,7 &14) should be given IM in the deltoid area. (The anterolateral aspect of the thigh also is acceptable in children.) Gluteal injections, which may not always reach muscle, should not be given and have been associated with rare vaccine failures.
A fifth dose on day 28 is no longer recommended.
Routine measurement of serum neutralizing antibody titres is not required.
Your daughter had no bite from the suspected rabid dog which died.Did she had any contact with dog's saliva, say licking any body part with breach in skin or mucous membrane?
Since there is a thin possibility of vaccine failure ( injection of vaccine into the buttock), you can go ahead for serum neutralizing antibody titres .Neutralizing antibody may be detectable as early as 7 days after the start of primary immunization.The titre of these antibodies shows a better correlation with protection than any other measure of immune response.
Neutralizing antibody level should be over 0.5 IU/ml.Decision to give booster dose at correct site is to be taken as per the report.
Regards
Dr. T.K. Biswas M.D. XXXXXXX
Rabies vaccination
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query. I can understand your concerns.
Purified chick embryo cell vaccine (Rabipur) is one of the three tissue-culture vaccines of choice,available now.
Four 1-mL doses of rabies vaccine (day 0,3,7 &14) should be given IM in the deltoid area. (The anterolateral aspect of the thigh also is acceptable in children.) Gluteal injections, which may not always reach muscle, should not be given and have been associated with rare vaccine failures.
A fifth dose on day 28 is no longer recommended.
Routine measurement of serum neutralizing antibody titres is not required.
Your daughter had no bite from the suspected rabid dog which died.Did she had any contact with dog's saliva, say licking any body part with breach in skin or mucous membrane?
Since there is a thin possibility of vaccine failure ( injection of vaccine into the buttock), you can go ahead for serum neutralizing antibody titres .Neutralizing antibody may be detectable as early as 7 days after the start of primary immunization.The titre of these antibodies shows a better correlation with protection than any other measure of immune response.
Neutralizing antibody level should be over 0.5 IU/ml.Decision to give booster dose at correct site is to be taken as per the report.
Regards
Dr. T.K. Biswas M.D. XXXXXXX
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Neel Kudchadkar
Answered by
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