Rabies vaccines: from the past to the 21st century

Since the first development of a rabies vaccine by Pasteur in the late 19th century, second- and third-generation vaccines with improved efficacy and less reactogenicity have been developed for use in humans and animals. Despite the availability of safe but rather expensive vaccines based on inactivated virus propagated in diploid cell cultures, much of the human vaccinations worldwide are still carried out with nerve tissue-containing vaccines, which have various side effects. A number of experimental vaccines are under development that may provide alternative safe and potent but less expensive vaccine options. These include DNA vaccines, recombinant viral vaccines, and recombinant protein vaccines. Further testing is needed to determine if and which one of these novel vaccines will make their way into mass production and application in the future.