New Generation of Rabies Vaccine

Rabies is a disease of major significance to human and veterinary medicine. Derivatives of the vaccine developed by Pasteur and associates 100 years ago (1885) are still in use in many parts of the world. During the past two decades considerable progress has been made in improving the efficiency and safety of rabies vaccines through the use of tissue-culture techniques. The Wistar Institute human diploid rabies vaccine, introduced in 1970, is now in general use in the United States and Western Europe. In spite of having a nearly perfect record of safety and efficacy, this vaccine is too costly for extensive use in many of the developing countries, particularly those where rabies vaccine is most needed. Furthermore, rabies is unique in that vaccine treatment is generally applied, in humans, after exposure to the virus: although postexposure vaccination is effective, the precise mechanism of its action is not yet clearly understood.