Zika virus breakthrough: World's
first vaccine to combat mosquito-borne disease developed in India
Hyderabad: In a medical breakthrough,
scientists at a Hyderabad lab claimed to have developed the world's first
vaccine against the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects
in thousands of babies in Brazil and is rapidly spreading in the Americas.
As per reports, Hyderabad-based Bharat
Bioltech International Limited (BBIL) has developed two candidate vaccines from
an imported live Zika virus. However, the trials on animals and humans are yet
to be done.
The breakthrough development came
amidst a worldwide scare about the deadly mosquito-borne virus which prompted
the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a global health emergency.
The firm says it has already patented
the vaccine even as other researchers search for a cure to combat the deadly virus,
which has been linked to microcephaly - where an infant has an abnormally small
head.
“On
Zika, we are probably the first vaccine company in the world to file a vaccine
candidate patent about nine months ago,” Dr Krishna Ella, the chairman and
managing director of the company, told NDTV. Dr Ella said that the Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has agreed to help in the vaccine trial.
"We have just been informed about
the Zika vaccine candidate that Bharat Biotech has. We will examine it from the
scientific point of view and see the feasibility of taking it forward. It is a
good example of a Make in India product," added Dr Soumya Swaminathan,
pediatrician and Director General, ICMR.
Dr Ella has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's direct
intervention to fast track the vaccine development, the report added.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
04.02.2016
You bring out
the best in yourself by looking for the best in others
Gene
Bedley
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