Human Antibody Response After Rabies Pre- And Post- Exposure Prophylaxis: A Philippine Experience

Abstract

Rabies, though fatal, remains to be a vaccine-preventable disease. A rabies antibody threshold of 0.5 IU/mL is considered protective. Compliance with vaccination, however, continues to pose a challenge to rabies prevention and control. A demographic profile and serum antibody levels were collected and analyzed using a cross-sectional analytic study design. A total of 183 individuals in Davao City, Philippines, who received rabies preexposure and post-exposure prophylaxis were recruited. The mean antibody levels were higher than the protective threshold regardless of the number of doses. A significantly higher antibody level was noted with two and three doses than the single dose (p=0.007). This study revealed that one vaccine dose may confer enough protection against rabies infection. However, Two or three doses can provide higher antibody levels lasting up to more than 6 years post-vaccination. Completing the rabies vaccination series increases the likelihood of developing sufficient protection against rabies disease.

Keywords: Rabies, rabies vaccines, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, antibody levels, Philippines

DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/117-02

Publication date: July 30th 2024