Detection of Neutralising Antibody Titration in Vaccinated Owned and Stray Dogs against Rabies Virus

The aim of this study was to determine the titers of neutralising antibodies against rabies virus in five hundred vaccinated owned and stray dogs within the Istanbul province. The levels of the neutralising antibody titration in the blood serum were evaluated by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Sixty five (13%) of the dogs examined had adequate level (0.5 IU/ml and over) of antibody titration. Also, the effects on the formation of the neutralising antibody levels following the vaccination of some factors, such as being owned or stray, the number of repetition of vaccination, the age, living area, sex, interval between the last vaccination and sampling, have been evaluated statistically. As a result of the statistical evaluations, it has been determined that interval between the last vaccination and sampling had an important effect on formation of the neutralising antibody titration (P 0.001). Also, it was determined that the effect of the age of the dog was also significant for the neutralising antibody levels (P 0.05). On contrary, being owned or stray, sex, living area and the number of repetition of the vaccination had no effects on the neutralising antibody levels.