Assessment of Immune Responses to Rabies Vaccination in Free-Ranging Dogs in Bengaluru, India
Vinay Chavan Prakash Rao,
Sharada Ramakrishnaiah,
Shrikrishna Isloor,
Rathnamma Doddamane,
Dilip Lakshman,
Manjunath Shinde Sundar Rao Maralavadi,
Avinash Bhat,
Balaji Chandrashekar,
Krithiga Natesan,
Ganesh Kondabattula,
Nagendra R. Hegde
Affiliations
Vinay Chavan Prakash Rao
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Sharada Ramakrishnaiah
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Shrikrishna Isloor
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Rathnamma Doddamane
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Dilip Lakshman
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Manjunath Shinde Sundar Rao Maralavadi
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru 560002, India
Avinash Bhat
Trouw Nutrition India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad 500032, India
Balaji Chandrashekar
Project Lead, Mission Rabies, Bengaluru 560072, India
Krithiga Natesan
KVAFSU-CVA Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, KarnatakaVeterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU), Bengaluru 560024, India
Ganesh Kondabattula
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bengaluru 560024, India
Nagendra R. Hegde
National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad 500032, India
Rabies is a fatal encephalomyelitis mainly transmitted to humans and other animals by rabid dog bites. Hence, vaccination programs are being instituted for the control of rabies in dogs. Though stray dogs have been vaccinated for years under various programs initiated for control of the disease, the effectiveness of these programs can be ascertained only by assessing the immunity of these dogs. With this in view, a study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the ongoing mass dog vaccination (MDV) program by the Bengaluru City Municipal Corporation, Bengaluru, India. Whole blood and serum samples (n = 260) from vaccinated stray dogs in 26 wards of 8 corporation zones were tested by rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) as well as an in-house quantitative indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) for a humoral response and by interferon-gamma (IFN–γ) ELISA for a cellular response. As determined by the cut-off value of 0.5 IU/mL of serum, 71% and 87% of the samples from vaccinated dogs revealed adequate levels of antibodies presumed to confer protection by RFFIT and iELISA, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the iELISA were 100% and 63.3%, respectively. The IFN–γ ELISA revealed adequate cellular response in 50% of the samples. The quantitative iELISA was found to be useful in large-scale seromonitoring of MDV programs to aid in the elimination of dog-mediated rabies.
