India Is Reported To Have World’s First Vaccine For Zika Virus

In a breakthrough discovery Bharat Biotech, a vaccine and biotherapeutic products manufacturer based out of Hyderabad, has claimed to have created the vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading Zika virus outbreak. Zika virus is named after Zika forest of Uganda where it was first identified in Rhesus monkeys in 1947. The virus has recently made headlines all over the world as it is spreading rapidly and has reportedly no vaccines to combat it.

The virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito family which causes a mild fever known as Zika fever. The virus has been found to be showing the same symptoms as those caused by Dengue fever and is treated only by taking rest. In the 1950’s the virus was confined to the equatorial belt of Africa and Asia. But since then it has spread to various other regions and as of today has reached pandemic levels.

According to World Health Organization, the virus is ‘spreading explosively’ and will infect 4 million people by the end of the year. In Brazil, the virus has been linked to children being born with small heads or microcephaly, but the diagnosis about that has been inconclusive. The virus has been reported in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Panamá, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. A cluster of infections similar to what occurred in Brazil was also reported in French Polynesia in 2014. Most recently in Texas, the USA the first infection transmitted through sex has been reported.

Bharat Biotech CMD Krishna Ella said, “We believe we have an early mover advantage in developing the Zikavac and we are probably the first in the world to file for a global patent for Zika vaccine candidates. We have two candidate vaccines in development. One of them is an inactivated vaccine that has reached the stage of preclinical testing in animals”. The patent for the vaccine was filed by the company nine months ago, however, the efficacy of the vaccine still needs to be tested. None the less the discovery is essential to combat the virus and is a big inspiration for Indian budding scientists. The world has only recently started research on developing a vaccine after the outbreak came to limelight.

Dr. Ella has said that the company at best has the capacity to produce one million doses of vaccine per year. To scale up the delivery of the vaccine it needs intervention from the government, and for this, he has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help fast track the development of the vaccine. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a pediatrician, and Director General, ICMR has said that they will examine the vaccine from a scientific point of view and take it forward.

Modern Medical Science and Ayurveda

Diagnostic, Prognostic fields have enriched with the modern medical science. Varieties of new technology are being developed for betterment of human being. The electronic Aspirin, Needle free diabetes care, Robotics check ups, a valve job with heart, Modern Biopsies and further diagnostics are few examples that shows the strength of human brain. The technologies such as Telemedicine, Webinars are well followed in medical science.

The glory of medical science is increasing day by day but it seems Ayurveda is being practised very little in it. Ayurveda Principle are immortal but the question arises about the nurturing Ayurveda in modern science. Lot of therapies are being followed using Ayurveda, still the potential of Ayurveda is not used up to the excellence. Although researchers suggest at it is possible that some substances in Ayurveda might be developed into effective treatments but the modern Ayurveda is still termed as "Pseudo-scientific". The inspiration of modern medical science is remained only about modern views but there is a need of amplifying  Ayurveda principles justifying the modern research.

The Ayurveda treatment is the holistic approach acting at various levels- physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual levels of the individual following alternative natural therapies using natural items such as water, green diet, fruit diet, herbal medicines. Avoidance of stress and recovery from stress by  techniques such as yoga, meditation, relaxation accepted as essential requirement to healthy life.

We cannot supplement Ayurveda with modern medical science impressively but Ayurveda has to be studied and integrated into modern medical practice in both preventive and therapeutic levels for the better treatment quality.