How many days after a tick bite can immunoglobulin be administered? - briefly
Immunoglobulin should be administered as early as possible, preferably within the first 72 hours after the tick bite; most guidelines consider it ineffective beyond five days post‑exposure.
How many days after a tick bite can immunoglobulin be administered? - in detail
The window for delivering passive rabies antibody after an arthropod bite is limited. Current public‑health protocols advise that the product be injected as soon as the exposure is recognized, preferably on the same day. If immediate treatment is not possible, administration remains acceptable up to seven days following the incident, provided that the first dose of active vaccine has not yet been given. Beyond this period, the benefit of the globulin diminishes because the patient will have already begun to develop its own immune response.
Key points governing the timing:
- Immediate administration (within 24 hours) maximizes neutralization of virus particles at the wound site.
- Maximum acceptable delay is seven days after the bite, contingent on the absence of prior vaccine doses.
- Late administration (after day 7) is generally discouraged; the standard regimen then relies solely on the vaccine series.
Dosage and placement are also strictly defined. The recommended volume equals 20 IU per kilogram of body weight, calculated on the basis of the patient’s total body mass. The globulin must be infiltrated around and into the wound(s) as far as anatomically feasible; any remaining volume is administered intramuscularly at a site distant from the vaccine injection, typically the deltoid muscle of the opposite arm.
Clinical considerations include:
- Verification that the tick species is capable of transmitting rabies, which is rare but documented in certain geographic regions.
- Exclusion of individuals with known hypersensitivity to human or equine immunoglobulin preparations.
- Monitoring for local reactions (pain, swelling) and systemic signs (fever, urticaria) after infusion.
In practice, health‑care providers should initiate the passive‑immunity component promptly, document the exact time elapsed since the bite, and proceed with the active‑immunity schedule (day 0, 3, 7, 14, 28) without delay. The combination of early globulin and timely vaccination remains the only proven strategy to prevent rabies after a potentially infectious arthropod encounter.