Inferior rabies vaccine quality and low immunization coverage in dogs (Canis familiaris) in China

Abstract

Human rabies in China continues to increase exponentially, largely due to an inadequate veterinary infrastructure and poor vaccine coverage of naive dogs. We performed an epidemiological survey of rabies both in humans and animals, examined vaccine quality for animal use, evaluated the vaccination coverage in dogs, and checked the dog samples for the presence of rabies virus. The lack of surveillance in dog rabies, together with the low immunization coverage (up to 2.8% in rural areas) and the high percentage of rabies virus prevalence (up to 6.4%) in dogs, suggests that the dog population is a continual threat for rabies transmission from dogs to humans in China. Results also indicated that the quality of rabies vaccines for animal use did not satisfy all of the requirements for an efficacious vaccine capable of fully eliminating rabies. These data suggest that the factors noted above are highly correlated with the high incidence of human rabies in China.

Rabies in China: An Update

“…The potency of these vaccines is tested during production by the LD 50 method in mice, which is usually used for the evaluation of rabies virus virulence. According to our trial, the potency of these vaccines was relatively low, they elicited a low level of neutralizing antibody, and on occasion antibody was not detectable (Hu et al 2008). The inactivated rabies vaccines now used in China include four types.…”

“…The number of dogs in China has been estimated at 80-200 million . Other reports have estimated the dog census to be in the range of 80-130 million (Hu et al 2008). Official government data suggest that the number of dogs is approximately 70 million.…”

Glycoprotein from street rabies virus BD06 induces early and robust immune responses when expressed from a non-replicative adenovirus recombinant

“…Rabies vaccines are very efficacious when given by injection, but this route of administration is always unfeasible and expensive for vaccination of freeranging animals. For example, fewer than 2 % of the dogs were vaccinated against rabies in some rural areas in China [12][13][14]. In addition to public-health awareness and education about animal-ownership responsibilities, which are complicated by social and economic status, development of an oral rabies vaccine for dogs would be significant in rabies control.…”

Adjuvant activity of Chinese herbal polysaccharides in inactivated veterinary rabies vaccines

“…More than 95% of the 2000-3000 annual human rabies cases in China are caused by rabid dog bites. This situation is largely the result of the low coverage of rabies immunization in dogs in the country [2][3][4]. In China, domestic live vaccines (including ERA and Flury-LEP) that are of low potency and with poor safety records in humans and dogs are still used widely [4].…”

“…This situation is largely the result of the low coverage of rabies immunization in dogs in the country [2][3][4]. In China, domestic live vaccines (including ERA and Flury-LEP) that are of low potency and with poor safety records in humans and dogs are still used widely [4]. The quality of these vaccines for animal use does not satisfy all of the requirements for an effective vaccine capable of preventing and controlling rabies in China.…”