We just had Connor's rabies titer done, it came back with a 14. He hasn't had a rabies shot in four years. Or maybe longer, I just know he's
way "over due." We have a waiver for him from the vet for rabies, but still got all of his titers done so that we know.
There are no "official" numbers for dogs, however, 5 is considered safe for humans. The higher the number the higher the level of immunity.
http://www.vet.ksu.edu/depts/dmp/servic ... rabfaq.htmWhat does your titer tell you? The RFFIT test can be used in two ways: to determine a RVNA titer (e.g., 1:5) or to determine a value for RVNA concentration (e.g., 0.5 IU). The IU stands for international unit and is calculated from the titer by comparing it against a standard reference serum. If you do not have RVNA present in your serum it will not neutralize the virus and the titer will be LESS THAN 1:5 (the 1:5 diluted serum did not prevent the virus from infecting the cells). RVNA antibody will neutralize rabies virus to an “endpoint titer” – to a specific dilution where the virus is neutralized. For example, if you have a little RVNA in your serum low dilutions (e.g. 1:5 or 1:25) will neutralize the virus, but higher dilutions will not. In contrast, if you have a lot of antibody in your serum the virus will be neutralized by high dilutions of your serum (e.g. 1:1000 or 1:7000) and not infect the cells. Therefore the further your serum can be diluted and still neutralize virus, the more RVNA you have in your serum. Current ACIP regulations recommend evidence of complete neutralization at serum dilution of 1:5 is considered an adequate response to rabies vaccination (1). If your serum diluted to 1:5 cannot neutralize virus a booster dose may be recommended (for people determined to be at risk of rabies virus exposure - see ACIP recommendations). In summary, the bigger the denominator in the reported titer, the more antibody in your blood (e.g., a titer of 1:125 has more antibody than a titer of 1:5 because it still neutralized at a much higher dilution) and a reported RVNA titer of greater than 1:5 is considered adequate.