Rapid antibody response to human diploid rabies vaccine.

The speed of antibody response to two administration schedules of human diploid cell strains rabies vaccine (HDCV) was measured in two groups of veterinary students as a preliminary study to the use of interferon inducers plus vaccine for rabies treatment. When four doses of HDCV were administered in three days instead of four doses in 14 days, 94.7 per cent of those injected had antibody by the seventh day, versus 31.6 per cent in the 14-day group. The maximum titer was lower and antibody fell more quickly in the group with the shorter time interval between doses. This study shows the feasibility of inducing the same rapid antibody response in humans as that noted in rhesus monkeys where the mortality from rabies virus challenge was markedly reduced after treatment with interferon inducers and HDCV.