Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rabies antibody levels in Finnish vaccinated dogs vs imported street
By Kaila, Marianne et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2019·Virology Unit·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparative study of rabies antibody titers of dogs vaccinated in Finland and imported street dogs vaccinated abroad.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at rabies antibody levels in 72 dogs, comparing those imported from countries like Russia and Romania to Finnish dogs vaccinated in Finland. The imported dogs had much lower antibody levels, with 39% showing no detectable antibodies, which raises concerns about their vaccination status. In contrast, all Finnish dogs had sufficient antibody levels. This suggests that imported dogs may not be adequately protected against rabies, even if they come with vaccination paperwork. Pet owners should ensure their dogs have proper vaccinations and check antibody levels if traveling internationally.
People also search for: rabies vaccination for dogs · imported dog vaccination status · rabies antibody levels in dogs
Abstract
Seventy-two canine serum samples were analyzed for post-vaccination serum titers of rabies antibodies. The samples were divided into two groups: Group 1 dogs (n = 36) were imported dogs from the Russian Federation (n = 31) or Romania (n = 5), with a mean serum antibody titer value of 1.54 IU/mL. Group 2 dogs (n = 36) were Finnish dogs vaccinated in Finland, with a mean titer of 4.19 IU/mL. Altogether, 14 (39%) dogs (CI 95% 23-56) were without detectable antibodies (≤ 0.1 IU/mL) in Group 1, whereas in Group 2, all dogs had an antibody titer greater than 0.1 IU/mL. A statistically significant difference was observed between these groups when comparing the proportions of dogs with antibody levels less than or exceeding 0.5 IU/mL. In Group 1, 19 out of the 36 dogs (CI 95% 36-70) had serum titer values < 0.5 IU/mL, while in Group 2, only 2 dogs had serum titer values < 0.5 IU/mL. Despite the small sample size, this raises concern over the imported dogs having insufficient antibody levels required for international travel and implies that these dogs had perhaps not been vaccinated, even though they had documentation of vaccination upon arrival.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30871641/