HUMORAL IMMUNE-RESPONSE OF DOGS TO THE IN ACTIVATED SUCKLING MOUSE-BRAIN VACCINE UTILIZED IN ANTIRABIES CAMPAIGNS IN BRAZIL

Introduction An anti-rabies campaign is undertaken annually in Brazil with of the Fuenzalida & Palacios vaccine. The humoral immune response of dogs vaccinated during the campaigns was researched with the objec tive of evaluating whether the dogs presented a protective titer (0.5 UI/ml) 12 months after vaccination and how many of these achieved this titer 30 days after a buttressing vaccination. Material and Method Th ree hundred and forty-one specimens of serum of dogs domicilied, 259 i n the S. Paulo and 82 in the Paulinia counties, were analyzed utilizin g the Rapid Fluorescence Focus Inhibition Test. The immune response wa s evaluated taking into consideration the nutritional state of the ani mal and the number of previous vaccinations. Results The larger number of the dogs had not achieved the 0.5 UI/ml titer after 12 months, ind ependently of the nutritional state and the response to the buttressin g vaccination was more apparent in dogs with two or more previous vacc inations. Discussion The cut off of 0.5 Ul/ml as protective titer in d ogs and the influence of the nutritional state and health conditions o f the animals as responsible for humoral immune response are discussed .