IVRI & NRCE collaborated to develop vaccine against cattle Lumpy Skin Disease.
The National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) in Hisar, Haryana, and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, have collaborated to develop a homologous live-attenuated Lumpy Skin Disease in a vaccine called ‘Lumpi-ProVacInd,’ which could help the country control cattle deaths.
The vaccine was developed by two institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the government intends to commercialize it as soon as possible in order to eradicate Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), according to an official release.
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Six states have already been affected by the sickness. Until August 8, Rajasthan had reported 2,111 cattle deaths, followed by Gujarat with 1,679, Punjab with 672, Himachal Pradesh with 38, Andaman and Nicobar with 29, and Uttarakhand with 26.
The vaccine was unveiled in Delhi by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala.
‘Scientists have been working on developing this vaccine since the LSD sickness was first identified in Odisha in 2019.’ Today, the technology was launched, and we will now move forward to ensure that this vaccination reaches farmers who own cattle,’ said Rupala, who is from Gujarat. He described it as a really positive outcome, given that the distribution of LSD has become a severe problem.
Vaccine commercialization
He also stated that there is a system in place for the commercialization of vaccinations and that the animal husbandry department will look into how it may be accelerated. States are currently utilizing goat pox to suppress LSD, which he claims is also successful.
Tomar emphasized the importance of increasing the vaccine’s production capacity so that it can reach the ground level as soon as possible to vaccinate 30 crore livestock.
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According to B N Tripathi, Deputy Director General of ICAR, the two institutes can manufacture 2.5 lakh dosages every month (Animal Science). The vaccination costs ₹1-2 for each dosage, and the immunity it induces usually lasts at least a year.
Because of its rapid growth in artificial hosts, there is rising concern about its zoonotic potential, albeit confirmatory evidence of human infection is absent, according to the ICAR.
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