Will Falconer, DVM Moderator
Thanks Kelly. I think you're on the right track. Fear will send people in wrong directions, and I'm not sure the final word is in on the rabies challenge study. Nor is it, as you say, fully known what the immune system is capable of.
I do know this: unless you are living in a third world country, the incidence of rabies is extremely low. You can track it, in fact, via either your local state's health department or the CDC or both. It's a reportable disease.
So, to revaccinate an already immune animal is likely a terrible waste of time and a risk to health.
One thing you know, if you've gotten to Module 4 is that titers don't tell the whole story. Any immunologist will agree, and that's what the K State study showed.
Also, it might be significant to know what the test animals were "exposed" to: it wasn't just a scuffle with a wild rabid animal. Not by a long shot.