How Effective Is Rabies Vaccination In Preventing An Infection?
And sir one more question will delay in the days make it less effective or have the significance?
For peace of mind you may complete the remaining course
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking once again but your panic is apparent from your words. If the dog had been rabid, and if the vaccination lacked effectivity, you would have been DEAD by now as rabies is a lethal disease. In fact the vaccine that you have been talking about, would not have been adequate if you had actually contracted rabies, since the vaccine takes several days to build the immunity in the body. In case of rabies transmission, rabies immunoglobulin needs to be given immediately for immediate effect. The post exposure vaccine that you have taken, needs to be taken within 10 days and so I do not think completing the course now would give you extra benefits. But if you are apprehensive, you can definitely complete the remaining vaccines. Let me assure you that your fear is out of proportion to the actual threat and I would strongly insist you to relax. The vaccines that you have already taken and are to take, would impart an immunity that would last years. Ideally, boosters are to be given only if the immunity drops below a certain level but giving a simple booster is safer. The vaccines that you have taken already have already been effective in 21 days from the day it was initially given. So you should definitely remain calm.
The following link should be helpful for you:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/rabies/risk/preexposure.html
Let me know in case of any further queries and I would be glad to help.
Regards
Go for the 5th dose
Detailed Answer:
I think that you should not skip the 5th dose and compromise the peace of mind. Being tension free is very important rather than leaving a 'what if'.
You may skip the dose if you have your mental peace
Detailed Answer:
In terms of the requirement of immunity, I do not feel it essential. It was because you were panicking, I suggested you to do whatever frees you from your worries.
The antibody test would not be very helpful.
Detailed Answer:
Glad to know that you now understand and that you are no longer panicking. Since you have already given the blood for antibody test, I do not think that there is any point discussing about it. But I find it a meaningless waste. Firstly, it is not an 'investment' since you are not going to 'gain returns' from it. What you are testing for is whether the rabies vaccination has imparted immunity to you which in any case it would. The test would not reveal if you have rabies virus in your body. The rabies virus is taken up by the nerve endings and are transferred by retrograde axonal transport i.e. through the nerve fibres and in case of latent rabies (which you fear), it will not be getting into the blood stream anyway and hence there would be no changes in any parameter including the antibody tests you have done. All the test will indicate is increased amount of antibody response to the vaccine.
Once again I would insist not to give any further thoughts to the rabies issue. Return back to your normal livelihood and everything would be fine.