Bharat Biotech has commenced a multi-country Phase II/III clinical trial of its chikungunya vaccine candidate (BBV87), with the first participant receiving a dose in Costa Rica.
Context
Bharat Biotech has commenced a multi-country Phase II/III clinical trial of its chikungunya vaccine candidate (BBV87), with the first participant receiving a dose in Costa Rica.
About vaccine
- BBV87 is an inactivated virus vaccine.
- Inactivated vaccines are another form of vaccine, where the virus is inactivated during the process of making the vaccine.
- Inactivated vaccines are not strongly influenced by antibodies in the host body, compared to live vaccines.
- This trial of a vaccine led by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in partnership with Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL).
International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
- IVI is an international non-profit organization devoted to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the people, especially children, against deadly infectious diseases.
- It was established in 1997 on the initiatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- Its work is exclusively on vaccine development and introduction specifically for people in developing countries, with a focus on neglected diseases affecting these regions.
- Currently, IVI has 40 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) as signatories to its Establishment Agreement.
- India has become a full-time member of IVI.
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About Chikungunya disease
- Chikungunya is a viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes that causes the sudden onset of fever and severe joint pain.
- Spready by: Chikungunya virus is most often spread to people by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus These are the same mosquitoes that transmit dengue virus.
- Symptoms: fatigue, muscle pain, headache and rash. Signs and symptoms usually appear within two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
- Chikungunya virus was first identified in Tanzania in 1952, with sporadic outbreaks of the disease reported subsequently across Africa and Asia.
