Restricted availability of free anti-rabies vaccine in public health facilities in India

Abstract

"Until recently health centres used the obsolete Semple vaccine prepared from the brain of sheep. Other than the needless sacrifice of so many sheep, this vaccine had three problems. It was only 60-70 per cent effective. It usually required a course of up to 14 injections of 5 ml each. And about 1 in 5, 000 persons injected with the vaccine would develop allergic encephalomyelitis, a serious brain condition. The Semple vaccine was withdrawn in developed countries after the arrival of the more effective, safe and convenient cell culture vaccine. But its usage in India continued because it was much cheaper than the cell culture vaccine