Miller Michele A, Olea-Popelka Francisco
Department of Veterinary Services, Disney's Animal Kingdom, PO Box 10,000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32820, USA.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009 Oct 15;235(8):978-81. doi: 10.2460/javma.235.8.978.
To evaluate serum antibody titers in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) following routine vaccination with a commercially available, inactivated rabies vaccine.
Seroepidemiologic study.
14 captive African elephants from a single herd.
Elephants were vaccinated as part of a routine preventive health program. Initially, elephants were vaccinated annually (2 mL, IM), and blood was collected every 4 or 6 months for measurement of rabies virus-neutralizing antibody titer by means of the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test. Individual elephants were later switched to an intermittent vaccination schedule to allow duration of the antibody response to be determined.
All elephants had detectable antibody responses following rabies vaccination, although there was great variability among individual animals in regard to antibody titers, and antibody titers could be detected as long as 24 months after vaccine administration. Young animals were found to develop an antibody titer following administration of a single dose of the rabies vaccine. Age and time since vaccination had significant effects on measured antibody titers.
Results indicated that African elephants developed detectable antibody titers in response to inoculation with a standard large animal dose of a commercially available, inactivated rabies vaccine. The persistence of detectable antibody titers in some animals suggested that vaccination could be performed less frequently than once a year if antibody titers were routinely monitored.
评估圈养非洲象（Loxodonta africana）接种市售灭活狂犬病疫苗后的血清抗体滴度。
血清流行病学研究。
来自同一象群的14头圈养非洲象。
大象作为常规预防性健康计划的一部分进行接种。最初，大象每年接种（2毫升，肌肉注射），每4或6个月采集血液，通过快速荧光灶抑制试验测量狂犬病病毒中和抗体滴度。后来，个别大象改为间歇性接种计划，以确定抗体反应的持续时间。
所有大象在接种狂犬病疫苗后均有可检测到的抗体反应，尽管个体动物之间的抗体滴度差异很大，并且在疫苗接种后长达24个月仍可检测到抗体滴度。发现幼象在接种单剂量狂犬病疫苗后产生抗体滴度。年龄和接种后的时间对测得的抗体滴度有显著影响。
结果表明，非洲象接种标准大动物剂量的市售灭活狂犬病疫苗后产生了可检测到的抗体滴度。一些动物中可检测到的抗体滴度的持续存在表明，如果定期监测抗体滴度，接种频率可以低于每年一次。
