Measuring antibody titres following rabies postexposure prophylaxis in immunosuppressed patients: a norm rather than the exception

Abstract

We present a case of a 51-year-old immunosuppressed man with underlying chronic lymphoproliferative leukaemia (CLL), who presented to us in emergency with breathlessness, hydrophobia, anxiety and restlessness. He had a history of category 3 dog bite 2 months ago and had received a full course of rabies immunoglobulin and antirabies vaccine (ARV) as per the national schedule. As there were frank clinical reports of rabies, the patient was managed according to Milwaukee regimen. The patients died within a week of the appearance of symptoms. The brain autopsy revealed Negri bodies conforming the mortality due to rabies.Immunosuppressed patients, like our patient who had CLL have low antibody formation after rabies prophylaxis. Antibody titres in immunosuppressed patients need to be measured after the 2–4 weeks of the last injection of ARV to decide whether a booster of ARV needs to be administered or not.