Rabies Virus Antibody ELISA (human)

Rabies virus can infect all warm-blooded species and in many species the disease can present itself in two different forms. Furious rabies, in which predominantly the brain is infected and paralytic rabies in which predominantly the spinal cord is involved. When cells of the limbic system are infected the first changes in behavior characteristic of rabies may be observed. It has been suggested that the phase before infecting cells of the nervous system may take a considerable length of time, causing a variable incubation period from 10 days to several years. Hence the virus is present in the saliva, which favors the most natural way of transmission by biting in the various stages of the disease, also sporadic cased of aerosol infections have been documented. Carnivores, especially domestic dogs and cats, and also rodent and recently bats, are usually involved in transmission of infections to dogs and man. Infections of dogs with rabies virus seem to be invariably fatal. Persistent in apparent infection accompanied by virus shedding has been documented in several human and animal species including cats and raccoons. This standardized ELISA test system based on wholeinactivated virus is intended to use as a rapid screening test for the detection of rabies antibodies in serum samples of dogs.