Interferonogenicity of rabies vaccines as related to their therapeutic and prophylactic activities

Non-interferonogenic rabies vaccine prepared from a virus grown in sheep brain and devoid of neuroallergenic factor and an interferonogenic vaccine from the same virus strain cultured in Japanese quail embryo cells have been compared. In mouse experiments both preparations appeared to have identical therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy. It seems that interferonogenicity of rabies vaccines cannot be used as a criterion of their prophylactic or therapeutic effects. The effectiveness of exogenous and endogenous interferon (IFN) in mice infected by the highly pathogenic fixed rabies virus has been experimentally demonstrated. Combined application of the vaccine and IFN or its inducer exerted the most marked therapeutic effect. Administration of IFN inducer into mouse brain was much more effective than its extraneural inoculation.