title: [Effect of previous anti-rabies treatment with Fermi type vaccine on the antibody response to one dose of HDCV].
abstract: We report the effect of previous anti-rabies treatments following a single HDCV challenge. The aim is to obtain guidelines for the re-vaccination of patients previously already immunised. 37 adults at risk for rabies, vaccinated 5-10 years before using a Fermi vaccine, were challenged with a single HDCV dose. 29 adults, previously not immunised were used as a control. Neutralizing antibodies' titres (indirect fluorescent antibody microtest) were monitored on day 0 (HDCV challenge) and 15. The best group produced an optimal response to the antigenic challenge: all subjects reached responses higher than the serum-conversion limit (0.5 U.I./ml), and 43.2% of patients had titres higher than 8 I.U./ml. Neither the number of previous injections of antirabies vaccine (5, 15, 20), nor the years between the first and the second vaccination were related to the antibody response. In the control group the serum-conversion limit was obtained in 31% of patients, and only 13.8% of them produced titres higher than 0.5 U.I./ml. Our data support a short vaccination schedule for patients at risk, who had an history of vaccination. In agreement with nerve-tissue vaccines, specific World Health Organisation Committee (1984), and in our researches of Fermi type, we suggest that in patients having an history of vaccination (documented by antibody titres), a single HDCV dose, monitoring the antibody response, is sufficient to control a new, not dangerous infection (site and type of the wound, animal, local epidemiology). Patients without a laboratory documentation of the previous antibody titres, or patients with a dangerous infection, should be challenged with three HDCV doses on day 0, 3, 7.
mesh_terms: D000917:Antibody Formation; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D008297:Male; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines
vernacular_title: Influenza di pregressi trattamenti antirabbici con vaccino tipo Fermi sulla risposta anticorpale ad una dose di HDCV.