Feasibility of canine oral rabies vaccination in Sri Lanka--a preliminary report.

Objective To test the feasibility of introducing oral rabies vaccine (vaccinia recombinant rabies glycoprotein) to improve domestic dog immunisation coverage in a selected area. Design A prospective field trial. Setting Panadura, an area relatively isolated by waterways, making it a suitable field laboratory. Methods A routine parenteral vaccination program was carried out. A house to house survey identified the residual non-vaccinated dogs in the selected area. Oral vaccine was offered to the non-vaccinated domestic dogs. Results Of 4322 dogs in the households, 1242 dogs (28.7%) were eligible for oral vaccine. 659 (53%) were considered to have accepted the oral vaccine with release of the vaccine in the oral cavity. Conclusion It is feasible to use oral rabies vaccine to enhance immunisation coverage.