Peripheral neuropathy following administration of nerve tissue antirabies vaccine

In 1997, two patients were admitted to Tikur Anbessa Hospital with complaints of ascending paralysis in all extremities following administration of sheep brain tissue anti-rabies vaccine following a rabies exposure. The paralysis had started after 14 daily subcutaneous injections of the Fermi type nerve tissue vaccine. After an eight week stay in the hospital with supportive care and physiotherapy, the patients showed remarkable improvement. They received a booster dose of vaccine while in the hospital, with no deterioration in their neurological status and were discharged.