Volume: 55 Issue: 4
Year: 2024, Page: 848-844, Doi: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2024.55.4.842-844
Received: Sept. 27, 2024 Accepted: Oct. 23, 2024 Published: Dec. 31, 2024
Kerala has recently experienced a surge in rabies cases despite ongoing vaccination efforts, prompting a need
to assess the efficiency of these vaccinations. This cross-sectional study evaluated the effect of age on post-vaccination
rabies antibody levels in 250 pet dogs in Thrissur district. Dogs were categorised into three: less than one year, one to
five years, and above five years, and the immune response was measured using an indirect ELISA. The study found that
76.4 per cent of the dogs had protective antibody titres (≥0.5 EU/mL) with an average titre of 2.04 EU/mL. Dogs over
five years had the highest seroconversion rate (92.3 per cent), while the younger age groups showed comparatively
lower rates. Age significantly influenced vaccine response, while multiple-dose recipients showed higher protection than
single-dose recipients. The study underscores the importance of booster doses and regular sero-monitoring for effective
rabies control.
Keywords: Anti-rabies vaccination, age, iELISA, antibody titre
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© 2024 Vani et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Vani, V., Nair, S. R., Sreekumar, E., Priya, P. M., Mani, B. K., Justin Davis, K. 2024. Effect of age on anti-rabies
immune response in pet dogs of Thrissur district, Kerala, India: a cross-sectional study.
J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 55 (4):842-844