CURRENT UPDATE : INDIA UNVEILS 1st INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED VACCINE FOR TREATING ENCEPHALITIS

INDIA UNVEILS 1^st INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED VACCINE 

FOR TREATING ENCEPHALITIS

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has launched the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine JENVAC in New Delhi and termed it a major step by the country towards achieving self-reliance in technological innovation. 

In an important medical leap, India today unveiled its first indigenously developed vaccine for treating Japanese Encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral disease that affects the brain. The manufacturer of the vaccine named JENVAC claims that the highly purified inactivated vaccine can be administered during epidemics without the fear of adverse effects. It is available in both single dose and five dose presentations.

The vaccine has been jointly developed by scientists of National Institute of Virology, Pune, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech Limited. 

Launching the vaccine in New Delhi, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said its development is a remarkable milestone in the emergence of India as an innovative and self-sufficient technology hub. He said it will enable the country to fight with the deadly virus which causes hundreds of deaths every year.

He further said the JE virus, which was first reported in in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu in 1955, has now spread to over 171 districts in 19 states. 

"The need for this vaccine is immense as the birth cohort in the affected 171 districts is about 40 lakh annually, which means we would eventually need about 1 crore doses of the vaccine for comprehensive coverage," Azad said. 

The indigenous production will now improve the efficacy, availability and affordability of the vaccine which is presently being imported from China.

Azad said that after acceptance of GoM recommendations for a comprehensive multi-pronged strategy for the prevention and control of Japanese Encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome, the Union Cabinet gave its approval for a 'National Programme for Prevention and Control of JE and AES' with a fund outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crore.  This programme is now being implemented in 60 priority districts of the country for a period of five years from 2012-13 to 2016-17 by the concerned ministries. 

Interventions are being focused on five states of Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Azad said.