“Neurological events have been reported following administration of rabies vaccine of human diploid cell origin. These have included 3 cases of neurologic illness resembling Guillain Barré syndrome and a few other subacute central and peripheral nervous system disorders.”
—Connaught Laboratories Vaccine Package Insert
Rabies is a viral infection that is spread to humans from animal bites. In the 1900’s there were approximately 100 annual cases of rabies in humans.422 In 1946 there were 33 reported annual cases of rabies in humans, and in 2006 there were only three cases of rabies reported in humans.423 One of the three cases was from a dog bite that occurred in the Philippines and the other two cases were from bat exposures.424
The incubation period in humans for rabies infection is several weeks to months and can range from days to years.425 The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) states that rabies “is almost always fatal.”426 However, a 1923 study showed that out of 2,174 persons bitten by rabid dogs, only 6.2 percent of the unvaccinated individuals died.427 This means that in 1923 a person bitten by a rabid dog had a 93.8 percent survival rate.428
There are currently two vaccines licensed for use in the U.S. against rabies infections—Imovax® and Rabavert®. Clinical studies testing the efficacy of the Imovax® vaccine showed antibody titers against the rabies virus only lasted for up to forty-two days.429 This is after five injections with the vaccine! Since the rabies virus has an incubation period that can range for years can a vaccine that only provides immunity for forty-two days at the maximum even be considered to be effective?
The chances of a person contracting rabies are minute to nonexistent. The ACIP gives the following figures for the maximum likelihood a person will contract rabies from an animal bite or an animal lick.430
Animals most likely to carry the rabies virus are bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and woodchucks.431 Other animals such as mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and chipmunks do not transmit rabies to humans.432 If a person is bitten by an animal the most effective treatment is wound hygiene.433 In fact, the ACIP even states that “optimal medical treatment of animal bite wounds includes wound cleansing” and “thorough wound cleansing alone without other postexposure prophylaxis markedly reduce the likelihood of rabies…”434
