Uma revisão bibliográfica: teste de potência da vacina raiva veterinária e humana

Abstract

Rabies has existed for over 4,000 years and is considered the most lethal zoonosis that could affect humans. The interaction between human beings and animals requires conscious care so that the biological balance between species variables is maintained. Rabies is an infectious disease, caused by a virus that compromises the Central Nervous System (CNS) in the form of encephalitis, showing signs of aggression, paresis and paralysis, affecting more predominantly mammals, whether domestic or wild. Rabies vaccines, before being released for use, undergo analysis and tests for potency, harmlessness, viral inactivation and sterility, among others, to verify and guarantee the quality standards required by federal agencies. The NIH test is the potency test adopted in Brazil, in which the ED50 of a test vaccine is compared to the ED50 of a reference vaccine. The enormous variation in the potency of commercial vaccines was the reason for the development of several potency tests, such as Koprowski's (test developed for attenuated vaccines using guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) as a model. The NIH test that was developed at the “National Institutes of Health", in Bethesda (USA), is the most adopted internationally and considered the most standardized. It is the test recommended by the World Health Organization, which is based on comparing the standardized national reference vaccine (NRV) with the vaccine of international reference (VIR).