A study to evaluate non-fatal rabies in animals.

Brains and salivary glands of stray dogs, cats and wild mammals were examined for latent rabies virus. Sera of these animals were tested for rabits neutralizing antibody. Dogs and rodents of the gerbil species were experimentally infected with rabies viruses tryping to produce nonfatal rabies. The following conclusions are made: 1. Naturally occurring nonfatal rabies infection evidenced by recovery of the virus was not present in the stray dogs examined and could not be produced experimentally. 2. Among wild gerbils showing no signs of disease, recovery of (latent) virus was possible but this condition could not be reproduced experimentally. However they could have been in the incubation stage. 3. Development of rabies neutralizing antibody did not occur naturally in wild rodents, but occurred in dogs. Antibody to rabies was detected in surviving gerbils after experimental infection. The antibody probably develops subsequent to sublinical nonfatal infection. 4. Non-fatal infection, indicated either by recovery of rabies virus or detection of neutralizing antibody, was not detected among the examined cats.