Trend of human rabies prophylaxis in developing countries: Toward optimal rabies immunization

Rabies is a fatal infectious disease. Because prevention is the key management for rabies, many vaccination regimens have been developed and used worldwide. The aims for developing rabies vaccination regimens include decreasing the number and amount of dosages, decreasing the duration and the number of clinical visits, and reducing cost. Interestingly, some intradermal (ID) regimens have proved to be as effective as the standard intramuscular (IM) regimens, and have been increasingly used in developing countries because they are less expensive. In this article, we reviewed rabies vaccines based on results obtained from clinical trials and international treatment guidelines for post-exposure prophylaxis, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the high risk group, and booster vaccination.