What is nervous tissue vaccine?

Answer 1

The nerve tissue vaccines are no longer available due to poor efficacy and life threatening

adverse effect of neuroparalytic reactions. The currently available vaccines are the modern tissue

culture vaccines (MTCV) and include Purified Chick Embryo Cell (PCEC) vaccine, Human

Diploid Cell Vaccine (HDCV), Purified Vero Cell Vaccine (PVRV), Purified Duck Embryo

Vaccine (PDEV). The vaccines are available in lyophilized form with sterile water as diluent, are

stable for 3 years at 2 to 8°C and should be used within 6 hours of reconstitution. All tissue

culture vaccines have almost equal efficacy and any one of these can be used. These vaccines

induce protective antibodies in more than 99% of vaccinees following pre/ post exposure

prophylaxis. The main adverse effects are local pain, swelling and redness and less commonly

fever, headache, dizziness and gastrointestinal side effects. Systemic hypersensitivity reactions in

vaccinees have been reported with HDCV particularly following booster injections but not with

PCEC/ PVRV. Intradermal vaccination may cause more local irritation as compared to the

intramuscular route. Along with proper wound care and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) post

exposure prophylaxis is effective in preventing 100% of rabies cases. Failures occur due to delay

in initiation or non use of RIG when indicated.