title: Evaluation of cases admitted to a center in Istanbul, Turkey in 2003 for rabies vaccination and three rabies cases followed up in the last 15 years.
abstract: We evaluated the cases of 7,266 individuals who applied to our hospital's Center for Rabies Vaccination between January and December 2003. Among 1,831 female and 5,435 male cases, 37% were given 3 doses of vaccination, 14% were given 5 doses, and in 24% of cases a 2-1-1 vaccination schedule was applied. Antirabies serum of horse origin was given in 179 cases. Regarding the wounds, 83% were superficial and 17% were deep. Most of the cases involved dog bites (74%). Of the dogs involved, 30% were pets (with owners). Only a few (6%) of those pets had been vaccinated. Of the 2 dogs investigated for rabies in Pendik Veterinarian Research Institute, none were found to harbor the disease. In the last 15 years, 3 cases were followed up with a diagnosis of human rabies in our clinic. Domestic animals (without owners, living a somewhat wild life in cities) are still the cause of many rabies cases. As rabies carries a very high fatality risk, public health precautions and education are important as well as post-exposure prophylaxis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Haseki Hospital for Training and Research, Istanbul, Turkey. drgonul@hasekihastanesi.gov.tr
authors.forename: Gonul
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sengoz
authors.forename: Kadriye Kart
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Yasar
authors.forename: Semsi Nur
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Karabela
authors.forename: Filiz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Figen Tansug
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Vardarman
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nazlican
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines