Type of vaccine: Modern cell-culture or embryonated-egg vaccine
Number of doses: Three, one on each of days 0, 7 and 21 or 28, given i.m. (1 or 0.5 ml/dose depending on the vaccine) or i.d. (0.1 ml/inoculation site)a
Booster: Not routinely needed for general travellersb
Adverse reactions: Minor local or systemic reactions
Before departure: Pre-exposure prophylaxis for those planning a visit to a country or area at risk, especially if the area to be visited is far from major urban centres and appropriate care, including the availability of post-exposure rabies prophylaxis, cannot be assured.
aFor information on which vaccines are recommended for intradermal use, see:www.who.int/rabies/human/postexp/en/index.html.
b In the event of exposure through the bite or scratch of an animal known or suspected to be rabid, individuals who have previously received a complete series of pre-exposure or post-exposure cell-culture or embryonated-egg rabies vaccine should receive two booster doses of vaccine, the first dose ideally on the day of exposure and the second 3 days later. Rabies immunoglobulin should not be administered.