You’ve probably heard about this HIV infection prevention strategy – Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. It can consist of HIV antiviral medications taken daily, or monthly or even longer (regimens available today only in studies.)
Well, the PrEP strategy can be used for other infections. Think about it, every vaccine is a form of PrEP. Most recently, the strategy has been applied to Rabies.
The rabies virus has several hosts. The most common are bats, raccoons, skunks, and canids (dogs, coyotes, foxes and less commonly, wolves). There are some countries where rabies exposure risk is much greater than it is in the more affluent and industrialized countries such as our own.
The new CDC guideline recommends a two-dose, primary rabies vaccination series before visiting these countries. Many of the countries in the former Soviet Union are on this list as are many countries in Africa and Central and South America and South Asia to boot.
If you are planning to travel outside the USA, check this list to see whether Rabies PrEP is recommended for you.