Evaluation of polyclonal anti-RNP IgG antibody for rabies diagnosis by indirect rapid immunohistochemistry test

•Rabies remain a neglected disease in most developing countries.•The iRIT may be utilized for detection the N antigen of all lyssaviruses for primary diagnosis.•The polyclonal anti-RNP IgG antibody recognized conformational and linear epitopes on RABV;.•The polyclonal anti-RNP IgG antibody was used to successfully detect RABV antigen in SNC samples from animals by iRIT.•The sensitivity and specificity of the polyclonal anti-RNP IgG antibody was comparable to widely used FITC anti-rabies MAb conjugate.