Rabies is a fatal neurological disease and a persistent global problem. It is spread primarily by domestic dogs but other canid, viverrid (skunks and raccoons) and chiropteran species are considered as the most efficient vectors of the disease. Since dogs are the main perpetuator of
rabies, special attention has to be given to bring all the dogs including unauthorized stray dogs under immunization umbrella in order to control
rabies. Vaccination is the only way to combat the disease before and after exposure or
infection as there is no treatment available once the symptoms have appeared. After the first crude nerve tissue
vaccine developed by Pasteur in 1885, a number of
rabies vaccines for animal and human use have been developed with varying degree of safety and efficacy over the years. Presently, cell culture based inactivated
rabies vaccines are largely used in most of the parts of the world. However, these
vaccines are too expensive and unaffordable for vaccination of people and animals in developing countries. The comparatively cheaper inactivated nerve tissues
vaccines can cause serious side-effects such as autoimmune
encephalomyelitis in inoculated animals and production has been discontinued in several countries. Although attenuated live
vaccines can efficiently elicit a protective immune response with a smaller amount of virus, they sometimes can cause
rabies in the inoculated animals by its residual virulence or pathogenic mutation during viral propagation in the body. New-generation
rabies vaccines generated by gene manipulation although in experimental stage may be a suitable alternative to overcome the disadvantages of the live
attenuated vaccines. So, awareness must be created in general public about the disease and the cell culture based
vaccines available in the market should be recommended for wide scale use to prevent and control this emerging and
reemerging infectious disease in foreseeable future.