Current status of rabies

At the moment there is a great need for the establishment of diagnostic laboratories particularly in the developing countries, for two main objectives: (i) to assist in diagnosis of rabies in the suspected animals after it has bitten humans to confirm the disease and to make appropriate decision for post-exposure vaccination and (ii) to determine the pre-exposure antibody titer in the vaccinated individuals of high risk group and the protective titer after post-exposure immunization. The test needs to be of high specificity and high sensitivity with a minimum of false negative and the false positive reactions. At present, it appears that IAHA is a useful test for screening for antibodies after pre-exposure immunization of high risk group and that RFFIT is an excellent confirmatory test.