[Evaluation of the ERA antirabies vaccine against antigenic variants of rabies virus in various post-immunization periods].

Protection levels of an attenuated antirabies vaccine, of ERA origin, prepared in Kidney tissue culture, were evaluated in mice. Two schemes of vaccination were utilized: a single dose and 6 doses on alternate days. Animals of different experimental groups were challenged at 15, 30, 60 and 120 days postimmunization with six antigenic variants of rabies virus: strains of dog origin (S. Paulo, Brazil and Nigeria), vampire origin (DR-19 and Pernambuco, Brazil), fox origin (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil), and CVS (Challenge Virus Standard). The results showed the effectiveness of the ERA vaccine against all antigenic variants of street and sylvatic rabies virus, independently of the vaccination scheme. Against the laboratory strains (DR-19 and CVS) the ERA vaccine was less effective, mainly in the groups vaccinated with a single dose.