Immune response following a vaccination campaign against rabies in dogs from northwestern Spain

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to the rabies virus in 156 vaccinated dogs from two provinces in the Castilla y León Autonomous Community (northwest Spain). An obligatory anti-rabies programme is currently in place in this region. Seroprevalence was established by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Of the 156 animals tested, 91 (58.3%) were positive (titres of 0.5 IU ml-1 or above). However, Soria province showed a significantly higher seroprevalence (77.1%) than León province (50%). Age, sex, habitat and use were evaluated with regard to the response obtained after vaccination: no significant differences were discovered for any of these factors. However, guard and herding dogs in León province tended to have lower seroprevalence than dogs not used in these ways. In general, there is a limited response to the vaccination programme in dogs from Castilla y León-especially in León province.