Rabies is a major public health problem with a fatality rate close to 100%, caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus, of which rabies virus (RABV) is the prototype. Nonetheless, the complete prevention can be achieved by the induction of
neutralizing antibodies by pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis. According to the world health organization (WHO) and World Organization for animal health (OIE), serum titers of rabies virus
neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) that are higher or equal to 0.5 international units (IU)/ml indicate adequate immune response after vaccination against
rabies. Currently, RFFIT and FAVN are the gold standard tests recommended by both WHO and OIE for detecting and quantitating RVNA in
biological samples from individuals or animals previously vaccinated and/or subjects suspected of having been infected by RABV. Although the tests RFFIT and FAVN are efficient, they are time-consuming, labor-intensive manual tests and not cost-effective for routine use. Following the previously mentioned, approaches with alternative methods have been developed to detect RVNA or
rabies-specific
antibodies in human or animal serum, but with variable success. This work summarizes the advances in the serological assays for the detection of
neutralizing antibodies or
rabies antibodies and assesses the individual immune status after vaccination against
rabies, as well as the mechanisms of RABV neutralization mediated by
antibodies. Therefore, the main alternative methods for the determination of RABV or
rabies-specific
antibodies are exposed, with promising results, besides being easy to execute, of low cost, and representing a possibility of being applied, according to the proposal of each test to the network of
Rabies Surveillance Laboratories.