Rabies vaccine

A vaccine that induces immunity against rabies, given before exposure or after a possible exposure to prevent the disease.

Rabies virus: A lyssavirus that infects the nervous system and causes rabies in humans and other mammals. The vaccine trains immune defenses to recognize this virus before it reaches the nervous system.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis: Vaccination given before a likely infectious exposure to prepare the immune system in advance. Rabies vaccination beforehand is used for people with elevated occupational or travel risk.
Inactivated vaccine: A vaccine made from pathogens that have been rendered unable to replicate. Modern rabies vaccines use inactivated virus rather than a replicating rabies strain.
Active immunization: Protection produced when a person's immune system responds to an antigen and develops immune memory. Rabies vaccine creates active immunity, which takes time to develop.
Neutralizing antibody: An antibody that binds a pathogen and blocks its ability to infect cells. Rabies vaccination protects chiefly by prompting antibodies that neutralize the virus.
Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis: Wound care and rabies vaccination, with immunoglobulin when indicated, after a possible exposure. This is the central use of rabies vaccine after a bite or other qualifying exposure.
Human diploid cell rabies vaccine: A rabies vaccine produced by growing virus in human diploid cell cultures and then inactivating it. It is one of the modern cell-culture vaccines used for human prevention.
Passive immunization: Protection provided by administering antibodies made elsewhere rather than inducing the recipient's own response. Rabies immunoglobulin offers passive protection, unlike the vaccine's longer-term immune priming.
Rabies immunoglobulin: A preparation of rabies-neutralizing antibodies used for passive immunization after certain exposures. It supplies immediate antibodies at the wound while vaccine-induced immunity develops.
Animal bite: A wound caused by an animal's teeth, potentially exposing a person to infectious agents. Bites from potentially rabid mammals commonly prompt urgent assessment for vaccination.

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