Five-year longitudinal study of efficacy and safety of purified Vero cell rabies vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis of rabies in Indian population.

Three hundred and nine (309) persons, vaccinated against rabies with Purified Vero-cell Rabies (PVR) vaccine from 1991-1995, were included in this five-year longitudinal study. This study was conducted to observe the consistency, immunogenicity, inocuity, safety and efficacy of this vaccine under field conditions. All the 309 persons attended our centre after taking post-exposure vaccination following bites by suspected rabid animals or contact with hydrophobia patients for antirabies antibody titre estimation. The vaccine was very well tolerated by vaccinees with only 7 per cent, complaining of mild to moderate side reactions. On an average, every year 70-100 vaccinees reported at this centre after PVR vaccination. The epidemiological characteristics of rabies based on above data are also discussed in this paper. Serological response, i.e., antirabies antibody titre following vaccination in all these persons were found to be satisfactory with mean antibody titre of 4.25 I.U./ml.