Drive held in 100 cities including Guwahati, administers 1 lac vaccines across India
HT Bureau
Guwahati, July 6: The Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), a leading vaccine manufacturer, on Wednesday organised a nationwide free vaccination camp against zoonotic diseases on account of World Zoonosis Day 2022.
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Diseases that transmit from animals to human beings are called zoonotic diseases. World Zoonosis Day is celebrated annually on July 6th to honour the first immunisation against a zoonotic illness. It holds substantial significance in educating and raising awareness about zoonotic diseases.
On Wednesday, IIL has administered 1 lac doses of Raksharab and Starvac-R (Anti-rabies vaccines of IIL) free of cost across the nation including Guwahati city, in its endeavour to realise its vision of ‘One health’, a collaborative effort towards optimal health for humans and animals through its innovative healthcare products.
A recent report from the State of the World’s Forests 2022 predicts India as a potential hotspot for zoonotic viral diseases. 70% of all emerging diseases such as Rabies, Swine Flu, Nipah, Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Porcine Cysticercosis, Zika, etc. that affect humans are zoonotic in nature. In their fight against the spread of such zoonotic viruses, IIL’s vaccination camp was escalated to 100 cities across the country through veterinary dispensaries, veterinary colleges and NGOs.
Zoonotic diseases such as rabies have imperilled human health since antiquity. Dogs are the source of most human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. India is endemic for rabies accounting for 36% of the world’s deaths. True burden of rabies is not fully known, although as per available information it causes 18000-20000 deaths every year. Rabies is taking its toll on adult men and children, majority from rural areas, due to lack of awareness about proper post-exposure immunisation. Several countries have been able to reduce the number of rabies related human deaths through vaccination of dogs. Awareness, accurate diagnosis, improvement in sanitary conditions, prophylactic vaccination are all measures that need to be taken to restrain/eradicate spread.
Speaking on the occasion of World Zoonosis Day, IIL managing director, Dr. K. Anand Kumar said, “It is the commitment of IIL as a truly One Health company to bring cost effective vaccines in both animal and human health. Through our ‘Anti-Rabies vaccine drive’, we aim to spread awareness on the disease and need to restrain it. We have been constantly innovating novel vaccines to cater to the ever-emerging zoonotic risks.”
IIL, a subsidiary company of National Dairy Development Board, is a leading biologicals manufacturer. Through research the company has delivered affordable vaccines for the consumers in India.
