Postexposure treatment of rabies infection: Can it be done without immunoglobulin?

Abstract

The last remaining international manufacturer of equine rabies immunoglobulin (ERIG) discontinued production in 2001. However, ERIG remains an essential biological that has no substitute other than human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG), which is in short supply and virtually unaffordable in developing countries. Physicians in regions where canine rabies is endemic and neither ERIG nor HRIG is available are providing less-than-optimal treatment to patients exposed to rabies. If no immunoglobulin is available, they have only 1 therapy option: use of a vaccine schedule that produces the highest and, hopefully, earliest neutralizing antibody response. However, treatment failures must still be expected. Early, aggressive wound cleansing and more intensive efforts at canine control and are ever more important. Countries that have the resources to manufacture their own rabies immunoglobulins must be encouraged to do so.