[Experimental development of the principles for designing an optimal schedule for inoculations with an inactivated cultured rabies vaccine].

Immune response was studied experimentally in mice immunized according to 23 different schedules with rabies vaccine in 1:10 and 1:20 dilutions for the elucidation of principles of developing an optimal vaccination schedule. Each group consisted of 40 to 50 animals. The most objective, reliable, and strict test, challenge of immunity to street rabies virus inoculated peripherally which is closest to natural conditions, was used as the criterion for the evaluation of immune response. The studies showed daily inoculation of the vaccine not to be the optimal schedule for the manifestation of the immune response after vaccinations against rabies. Most intensive immunity was observed after vaccination with intervals between the injections (principle 1). When the vaccine was inoculated at a 5-10-day interval, a booster effect of the type of secondary immune response was observed, and the protection of the animals was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than after daily inoculation of the same amount of the vaccine, significantly higher than after daily inoculation of the double amount of the vaccine, and as high as after inoculation of the 4-fold amount of the vaccine daily for 8 days. No booster effect of the vaccine was observed when the interval between the injections was no more than 2-3 days. The booster effect of the vaccine injections at intervals is determined by the level of the ground immunity (priming immunization) (principle 2) and the antigenic potency of the vaccine (principle 3).