MINNEAPOLIS, May 5—The Minnesota Department of Health is asking healthcare providers to conserve rabies biologics used for pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis.

There is currently a national shortage of human rabies immune globulin and rabies vaccine. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) provides two services that can help:

• Consultation about potential rabies exposures and the need for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is available to healthcare providers 24/7 and to the public during business hours, at (651) 201-5414 or 1-(877) 676-5414. Animal bites and rabies risk information, including information about bat exposures, can also be found on the MDH rabies page. 
• The MDH Public Health Laboratory offers a "quick rabies assay" on rabies-suspect animals. This test allows healthcare providers to defer starting rabies prophylaxis in patients with high-risk exposures (such as facial bites), when it may be unsafe to wait for the standard test results. In such cases, an epidemiologist can be reached at (651) 201-5414 for consultation and to arrange for the test. Results are available in 4-5 hours vs. 24-48 hours for the standard test.

Below is a current list of the products and manufacturers of rabies biologics licensed in the United States:

Human Rabies Vaccines:
Purified Chick Embryo Cell (PCEC) Vaccine, RabAvert® Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics
Phone: (800) 244-7668
Website: http://www.rabavert.com
Human Diploid Cell Vaccine (HDCV), Imovax® Rabies Sanofi Pasteur
Phone: (800) VACCINE (822-2463)
Website: www.vaccineplace.com/products/

Human Rabies Immune Globulins:
Imogam® Rabies-HT
Sanofi Pasteur
Phone: (800) VACCINE (822-2463)
Website: http://www.vaccineplace.com/products/
HyperRABTM S/D (formerly BayRab by Bayer) Talecris Biotherapeutics
Phone: (800) 243-4153
Website: www.talecris-pi.info

Please contact Dr. Joni Scheftel at (651) 201-5107 if you have any questions and for more information.