Exploring the Feasibility of a New Low Cost Intra-Dermal Pre & Post Exposure Rabies Prophylaxis Protocol in Domestic Bovine in Jawali Veterinary Hospital, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India

Cattle are the backbone of household economy in rural areas of India and many of them die after bites by potentially rabid dogs, despite being given currently recommended five shots of intramuscular (IM) rabies vaccination as Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). In 2016, seven of 21 bovine bitten by rabid dogs given IM rabies vaccination died due to rabies in Shimla Municipality. This scenario prompted the authors to look for a suitable protocol, based on human studies, to save animals. We tested various schedules of IDRV in bovine and found that a schedule of 0.2 ml given in middle 1/3 of neck on day 0, 3, 7, 14 and 28 along with local wound infiltration of eRIG is sufficiently immunogenic and life saving in all of them, even if bitten by lab confirmed rabid dogs/mongoose as tested by CRI. Rabivac Vet, a Cell Culture Rabies Vaccine, available as 1 ml per vial was used off level for IDRV. While injecting the vaccine, a raised papule of ≥1 cm will appear slowly causing a peau d’orange appearance. All 60 bovine serum samples tested by RFFIT after IDRV, had titers more than 0.5 IU/ml on day 14. Thereafter, a total of 150 animals were given five doses of IDRV as PEP, with or without RIG, after their exposure to clinically or lab confirmed rabid dogs/mongoose and all surHow to cite this paper: Bharti, O.K., Sharma, U.K., Kumar, A. and Phull, A. (2018) Exploring the Feasibility of a New Low Cost Intra-Dermal Pre & Post Exposure Rabies Prophylaxis Protocol in Domestic Bovine in Jawali Veterinary Hospital, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India. World Journal of Vaccines, 8, 8-20. https://doi.org/10.4236/wjv.2017.81002 Received: December 5, 2017 Accepted: February 2, 2018 Published: February 5, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access