Cell mediated immune response in canine antirabies vaccination.

The Authors studied the cell mediated immunity (CMI) and humoral antibody levels raised in response to canine antirabies vaccination and re vaccination. The vaccine used was the FUENZALIDA & PALACIOS which is routinelly utilized in human and canine vaccination in Brazil. The evaluation of CMI was done by inhibition of peripheral leukocyte migration and antibody levels were measured by serum neutralization and complement fixation tests. Five dogs were used and each animal received one daily dose of 1 ml of the vaccine for five days and one booster 210 days after the initial schedule. All animals showed moderate antibody levels after the initial immunization and a clear secondary immune response following the booster dose. Cell mediated immune response however occurred only following the initial immunization and could not be detected after the booster dose. The Authors concluded that CMI occurred in canine antirabies primo-vaccination under the experimental conditions employed and that although a secondary cell mediated immune response was not detected in this study its existence cannot be rulled out but remains to be studied by means of other immunization experiments.