1 Chairman, Committee on Infectious Diseases, American Academy of Pediatrics
The Red Book is a concise digest in outline form of the latest information on control, prevention, and treatment of infectious disease for quick reference. Material has always been presented in telegraphic style to save time for the reader and to facilitate revision with the hope that readers would refer to textbooks for supplementary information.
The decision to administer rabies vaccine should not become a routine prescription for each and every bite because rabies vaccination requires a long series of injections that are followed by severe erythema, fever, or arthralgia in 5-10% of cases.