Rabies mass vaccination campaigns in Tunisia: are vaccinated dogs correctly immunized?
Among the 301 dogs vaccinated against rabies in a suburban area of Tunis, 165 were sero-surveyed for 13 months. One month after vaccination, 65% of the dogs less than 1 year of age and 76-84% of the older dogs had significant antibody titers. One month after annual revaccination, these percentages ranged between 92% and 100%. Puppies (less than 3 months old) responded to vaccination with no significant interference by passive maternal immunity. Based on these percentages, a 93% rate of protection may be expected for vaccinated dogs. This study confirms that all dogs (even those less than 3 months of age) must be vaccinated during mass campaigns. The expected protection conferred by locally produced potent vaccines reaches 79-99% based on the age of the dogs. The alleged relative inability of local dogs to respond to vaccination cannot explain the partial success of rabies control in Tunisia.
Seghaier
C
C
Institut de la Recherche Vétérinaire de Tunisie, Tunis, Tunisia.
Cliquet
F
F
Hammami
S
S
Aouina
T
T
Tlatli
A
A
Aubert
M
M
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D008297:Male; D011818:Rabies / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000276:immunology; D014416:Tunisia; D014611:Vaccination / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011819:Rabies Vaccines