Local application of antirabies gamma-globulin in dried form for the prevention of rabies.

The authors report on guinea-pig experiments conducted to determine the effect of dried antirabies gamma-globulin in the local treatment of wounds infected with street rabies.The results showed that local application of dried gamma-globulin within 30 minutes of the time of infection of the wound protected the majority of animals and resulted in a considerably longer incubation period in the remainder than in the controls. When the preparation was applied later than 30 minutes after infection, the therapeutic effect was slight or absent. Optimum protection in these experiments was obtained through rapid application of gamma-globulin, followed by vaccination every other day for six days.Dried antirabies gamma-globulin exerts a specific, local action on the rabies virus and is entirely painless and non-destructive to body tissues.