A rapid quantitative microtest for live, attenuated rabies vaccine.

A rapid fluorescent antigen test (RFAT) was developed in microplates to evaluate quantitatively attenuated, live rabies vaccine, ERA strain, at different stages of vaccine manufacture. This technique is based on the principle of the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT). Several samples of bulk rabies vaccine (ERA strain) were tested in parallel using the RFAT and the mouse lethal dose 50 (M-LD50) test, the method currently used to evaluate vaccine potency. Although the two tests were found to be comparable in sensitivity the RFAT is of significant benefit in terms of simplicity and rapidity for potency evaluation during vaccine manufacture.