Immunohistochemical and histopathological studies of fixed rabies virus in goats

The purpose of this study was to systematically demonstrate and compare the pathological and immunohistochemical changes in goats which were infected by a fixed rabies virus that was used in vaccine production. In the histopathological examinations, varying degrees of inflammatory, degenerative and necrotic changes were detected in the central nervous system. In the preparations stained by the immunoperoxidase (IP) method, intra- and/or extracellular viral antigens were observed on the cerebellum, cornu ammonis, thalamus, pons, nucleus caudatus, spinal cord, medulla oblongata, Gasserian ganglion, eye and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. In the preparations stained by the immunofluorescence (IF) method, intra- and/or extracellular viral antigens were seen in the same locations with the exception of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes. It was also observed that the antigens were qualitatively and quantitatively well stained with both methods. However, the visibility of antigens in the retropharyngeal lymph nodes and eye, and the facilities of applying made the IP method much more advantageous than the IF method.