Comparative study of postvaccinal haematological and immunological responses to three brands of rabies vaccines in Nigerian local dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)

Abstract

Rabies is still a public health burden in Nigeria despite vaccination efforts. This may be due to impotent vaccines being administered to dogs. Therefore, this study was conducted to test the immunogenicity of some commonly-used anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) in Nigeria. Twenty four certified healthy local breed puppies were divided into 3 groups of 8 dogs per group, randomly selected equally based on sex. The groups were tagged groups A, B and C. Three brands of ARV coded A, B and C were administered to their respective dog groups. Blood samples of dogs were collected pre-vaccination (Day 0), Days 7, 14, 28 and 90 post vaccination. The blood samples were evaluated for haematological parameters and the serum samples were analysed using indirect ELISA to evaluate seroconversion. Statistical analyses were carried out using ANOVA and Student's t-test. The three brands of vaccines clicited seroconversion by day 7 post-vaccination as there were significant (p<0.05) increases in the antibody titres (IU/ml) A (0.45±0.06), B (0.64±0.14), C (0.784.06) following the administration of the vaccines compared to the titers found in A (3.18+0.16), B (2.78+0.38) and C (4.20+0.17) on day 0. There were also significant increases (P<0.05) in the antibody titres on days 14, 21, 28, 90 compared to day 0. Comparatively, all the vaccines were immunogenic but vaccine C induced the highest level of antibody titre. There was no significant difference in antibody responses on specific days based on gender. All the three brands of evaluated in this study are immunogenicity and suitable for routine vaccination of dogs.