Evaluation of three antigenically different rabies virus strains in mice: I - Study of the clinical observation periods

Abstract

A study was conducted to compare three rabies virus strains, two of them, Jales and Nigeria, isolated from dogs, and the other, DR 19, from vampire bats, with different nucleocapside antigenic variations. These strains were intramuscularly inoculated in the inside part of the thigh of 21 and 28 day-old mice. The animals were observed for 30 days, in accordance with the clinical observation periods (incubation and illness). Mortality rates by age and viral strain were recorded. The brain pooled infective title of each experimental subgroup was determined. The results showed that Jales and Nigeria strains were similar when clinical observation periods and mortality rates were analysed for both age groups. However, these results were different from to those obtained for the DR 19 strain.