Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Rabies vaccine
See also Vaccines
General information
Rabies vaccine was for a long time prepared from infected brain tissue, and neurological complications were likely to occur in as many as one in 300 cases. A second-generation vaccine prepared from duck embryo tissue is better tolerated in this respect, and third-generation vaccines prepared in non-neural tissue cultures or in human diploid cell (HDC) vaccines with a progressive improvement in safety have now become the vaccines of choice where they are available.
Any rabies vaccine can apparently cause mild local discomfort and swelling, and animal preparations can result in hypersensitivity reactions, for example pyrexia, serum sickness, or urticaria; sensitization can occur.
Third-generation rabies vaccines include a purified vero-cell rabies vaccine (PVRV) and HDC vaccine purified by zonal centrifugation. In clinical trials [ , ] the improved vaccines were well tolerated. In 1988, Rabies Vaccine Adsorbed (RVA), a new cell culture-derived rabies vaccine (Kissling strain of rabies virus adapted to a diploid cell line of the fetal rhesus lung cells in medium-free of human albumin and adsorbed on aluminium phosphate) for human use was licensed in the USA. Reactions after primary immunization are similar to those observed with HDC. Systemic allergic reactions have been reported at a rate <1% (HDC 6%) [ ].
Drug studies
Observational studies
On 20 October 1997, the FDA licensed a Purified Chick Embryo Cell (PCEC, RabAvert®) vaccine against rabies in humans. From October 1997 to December 2005, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) received 336 reports of adverse events after immunization with PCEC vaccine in the USA; there were no deaths [ ]. Serious events, including 20 hospitalizations and 13 neurological events, were described in 24 reports (7%). There was no pattern among the 13 neurological adverse events to suggest a plausible relation to immunization. A total of 20 adverse events, three serious, were classified as possible anaphylaxis. There were 312 non-serious adverse events (93%). In 19 cases (6%) immunization was discontinued because of non-serious adverse events. Most reported adverse events are non-serious and consistent with pre-licensure safety data.
You're Reading a Preview
Become a Clinical Tree membership for Full access and enjoy Unlimited articles
If you are a member. Log in here