TO ESTIMATE THE SEROCONVERSION RATE AMONG VACCINE DROPOUT OF RABIES IN DISTRICT AMRITSAR

Abstract

Background: - Rabies is a vaccine preventable deadly disease. There is a lack of
organized surveillance system on animal bite victims to ensure completion of full
course of post-exposure prophylaxis. Objective: - To estimate seroconversion rate
among vaccine dropout of Rabies and assessment of sociodemographic profile of
Rabies dropout cases. Methods: - This prospective study was conducted among
patients who attended Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Government Medical College,
Amritsar, in Anti-Rabies Clinic between the periods ranging from July, 2023 to
December, 2024. Study population comprised of vaccine drop out cases bitten by
animals known to cause Rabies. A 5 mL of whole blood was extracted in a plain
vacutainer from suspected patients and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA) was performed. Results: - Total of 93 samples were collected out of which
72 were vaccine dropouts and 21 were related to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. Rate of
Seroconversion increased with the number of doses. Conclusion: - Rate of
Seroconversion is directly proportional to number of completed doses. Proper dosage
at scheduled time is utmost important to achieve high seroconversion rates.
High/Sufficient Seroconversion was observed in all cases after complete vaccination
schedule.