Neuro-psychiatric Complications of Anti-rabies Vaccine – (review with Case Reports)

In India rabies still remains a major public health problem and has high risk of mortality associated with it. Two types ot antirabies vaccines are in current use in human beings as prophylaxis against rabies, i) nervous tissue vaccine (BPL inactivated vaccine) and ii) duck embryo vaccine. Severe neuroparalytic reactions have been described following use of each type of vaccine (Toro et al 1977, Rubin et al 1973, Kaiser et al 1965, Shiraki et al 1962). These reports have described in detail neurological complications of the vaccine. However, no report has mentioned any specific psychiatric sequalae or behavioural abnormality associated with its use. In this paper we describe two cases who presented predominatly with behavioral disturbances following administration of antirabies vaccine.