Rabies Immunization

Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Rabies Vaccination Policy

Printable Rabies Vaccination Policy (pdf)

Due to the potential risk of exposure to rabies during veterinary training, as well as throughout
one’s veterinary career, Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine requires that all
incoming students admitted to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum obtain rabies preexposure prophylaxis.

Human rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis consists of two 1.0 mL injections of rabies vaccine
administered intramuscularly in the deltoid (upper arm), one injection per day, on days 0 and 7.
For additional information, please see the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices, Human Rabies Prevention and CDC Vaccine Information Statement.

The College of Veterinary Medicine schedules a vaccine clinic hosted by Kansas State
University’s Lafene Health Center during orientation at the beginning of each fall semester. The
2023 vaccine costs through the Lafene Health Center are approximately about $425 per dose,
at a total cost of approximately $850. RabAvert vaccine can also be obtained from Novartis
(800-244-7668) or through consulting with one’s personal primary care clinic.

Incoming students fulfill the rabies prophylaxis requirement by either electing to participate in
the Lafene vaccination clinic during orientation, submitting a record of their completed
vaccination series (if arranged separately) or by providing titer results that indicate greater than
or equal to 0.5 IU/ml (if receiving the vaccination series more than six months prior to the
commencement of fall classes).

• Recommendations of Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Human Rabies Prevention
  According to the Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,
  Human Rabies Prevention --- United States, 2008, pre-exposure vaccination is appropriate for
  persons at high-risk for rabies exposure, such as veterinarians and their staff, animal handlers,
  and others whose activities bring them into frequent contact with potentially rabid animals. Preexposure rabies prophylaxis is administered for several reasons. First, although pre-exposure
  vaccination does not eliminate the need for additional prophylaxis after a rabies exposure, it
  simplifies management by eliminating the need for rabies immune globulin and decreasing the
  number of doses of vaccine needed. Second, pre-exposure prophylaxis might provide sufficient
  interim immunity to persons whose post-exposure prophylaxis may be delayed. Finally, preexposure prophylaxis might provide some protection to persons at risk for unrecognized
  exposures to rabies.
  
  Resources:
  

  1. MMWR RecommRep. 2008 May 23;57(RR-3):1-28. Human rabies prevention--United States, 2008: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Manning SE, Rupprecht CE, Fishbein D, Hanlon CA, Lumlertdacha B, Guerra M, Meltzer MI, Dhankhar P, Vaidya SA, Jenkins SR, Sun B, Hull HF; Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  2. Compendium of animal rabies prevention and control, 2008. National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians Committee. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2008 May 15;232(10):1478-86. Updated 8/1/2023
  3. Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2007. Blanton JD, Palmer D, Christian KA, Rupprecht CE. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2008 Sep 15;233(6):884-97. Erratum in: J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2008 Oct 15;233(8):1264.
  4. Vaccine Information Statement