Rabies neutralizing antibody after 2 intradermal doses on days 0 and 21 for pre-exposure prophylaxis

Pre-exposure prophylaxis is recommended for people who will be exposed to rabies virus in the laboratory or who will contact with mammals. World Health Organization recommends 2 doses of a cell-culture rabies vaccine given 1 week apart, and a third booster dose given 2–3 weeks later. Neutralizing antibody response is virtually 100%, and the individual remains sensitized indefinitely. Intradermal pre-exposure regimen for rabies prophylaxis is more economical compared with the conventional intramuscular regimen in terms of vaccine volume. However, both regimens require three clinic visits. In order to reduce non-medical expenses such as transportation to the clinics and to increase compliance, the immunogenicity and safety of two-visit intradermal regimen for pre-exposure prophylaxis were studied. Fifty-five healthy subjects aged between 18 and 24 years were enrolled and divided into two groups. Group A (n = 39) received 0.1 ml of purified Vero cell rabies vaccine (PVRV; Sanofi Pasteur, Lyon, France; Lot no. Z0996 with an antigenic value of 4.8 IU/0.5 ml vial) intradermally each at two sites on days 0 and 21. Group B (n = 16) received 0.5 ml of PVRV intramuscularly on days 0, 7 and 21, as conventional intramuscular regimen for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Rabies neutralizing antibody (Nab) titers were measured on days 0, 35, 365 and 379 (14 days after simulated post-exposure booster vaccination). All subjects from two groups had Nab titers ≥0.5 IU/ml on day 35. In addition, the difference between geometric mean titers for group A (4.51 IU/ml; range of Nab titers 1.69–13.0 IU/ml) and group B (6.74 IU/ml; range of Nab titers 2.20–14.23 IU/ml) on day 35 was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). One year after pre-exposure vaccination, all subjects in both groups received simulated post-exposure booster vaccination with 0.1 ml of PVRV ID on days 0 and 3 (day 365 and day 368 after pre-exposure vaccination). After simulated booster vaccinations with 0.1 ml PVRV ID on days 0 and 3, all subjects in groups A (GMT 14.38 IU/ml; range 2.99–308.44 IU/ml) and in group B (GMT 14.06 IU/ml; range 3.12–62.09 IU/ml) had rabies Nab titers ≥0.5 IU/ml on day 14 post-booster (p > 0.05). Mild local adverse events such as pain at injection site, pruritus and erythema were observed. Our study indicated that 2-site intradermal pre-exposure regimen on days 0 and 21 with 0.1 ml of cell-culture rabies vaccine is safe and immunogenic as the conventional intramuscular regimen.