Anthrax vaccine being tested

By R.K. Radhakrishnan

BHOPAL, NOV. 12. The High Security Animal Disease Laboratory here has taken up testing of the human anthrax vaccine developed by two Delhi scientists, according to its director, Dr. H.K. Pradhan. The testing could take ``six to nine months''.

He said the human anthrax vaccine technology had been developed now only in the U.S. and Russia. The World Health Organisation's and the U.S. Centre for Disease Control's protocols on testing would be followed, but refused to elaborate.

The vaccine developed by Dr. Rakesh Bhatnagar of the Centre for Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Dr. Yogendra Singh of CSIR's Centre for Biochemical Technology, was unveiled in New Delhi on November 5. The new, relatively inexpensive vaccine is prepared by cloning and over expression of the protective antigen gene alone through a polymerase chain reaction. Preliminary studies on mice and guinea pigs have proved the efficiency of the vaccine, according to the researchers.

Anthrax was prevalent in animals such as cattle, sheep and goats in the country for more than a century and the disease was under control in the country, he said. There were instances of people being affected by the disease, but this was ``only an occupational hazard'', he told a group of visiting presspersons here.

The laboratory also had received for testing some ``six or seven letters'' addressed to prominent politicians with traces of some white powder. But none of these had tested positive for anthrax, Dr. Pradhan said.

The laboratory has drawn up a Rs. 60 lakh proposal to study the ``fresh emergence'' of mad cow disease. But right now, it did not have the facility to take up research on the disease, which is estimated to cause a loss of about Rs. 4000 crore to the country.

The long-term objective behind setting up the laboratory is to develop competency for diagnosis and control of foreign diseases in animals important to India, in the event of their entry into the country. The immediate mandate of the laboratory included developing tests and screening regimen for animal and animal products for exotic diseases and pathogens; diagnosis and differential diagnosis of exotic/emerging animal diseases using standard/latest technology.

The Laboratory had identified 39 ``foreign'' diseases which had the potential to enter the country. These diseases were not present in the country and efforts were on at various levels to ensure that these were not introduced here.

The Laboratory's close watch yielded results on two occasions this year. In January, the laboratory discovered that 150 rabbits imported from Germany by the Union Ministry of Textiles for a fur development programme were afflicted with Rabbit Haemorrhagic disease. The animals, kept in quarantine in Delhi, were destroyed and the issue was taken up with the German Government. Incidentally, a German laboratory had certified the animals free of the disease.

In another case, an Indian national had imported 80 pigeons from Saudi Arabia last August, through Chennai, without a valid permit. A laboratory test revealed that they were afflicted with Avian Influenza.

The Laboratory was now working on an antidote for nine of the diseases which had ``high potential'' to enter the country. These included the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea, Bovine Immuno Deficiency (similar to HIV infection in human beings), Pseudo- rabies in Cattle, Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome, HongKong flu (popularly Avian Influenza), Rabbit haemorrhagic disease and transmittable gasteroenteritis.

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Section  : National
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