Int’l Symposium On “Rotavirus Vaccines” Underway In New Delhi

New Delhi, May 15, IRNA -- A two day International Symposium on “Rota-virus Vaccines For India - The Evidence And The Promise” kicked off Tuesday in New Delhi. Inaugurating the symposium the Secretary of Department of Bio-Technology (DBT) Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan highlighted the long and unique road of this vaccine development project - an innovative international model of collaboration across agencies, sectors, continents, and cultures. He said Rota-virus is the most severe and lethal cause of childhood diarrhea and kills around 100,000 Indian children each year and to combat it Indian and international researchers and the public and private sectors joined together to combat a terrible killer. For this the Indian and international researchers and the public and private sectors have joined together to develop this rota-virus vaccine. It was developed from an Indian strain by an Indian company, and tested by Indian investigators in an effort led by the Indian government. Raghavan said our job has been to do the research and development of the innovative solutions and we have had help from global scientists and friends—and the result is a world-class vaccine for India’s children and for r the first time, we have taken a vaccine from the earliest discovery through every stage of development. This International Symposium is a joint venture of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology Department of Health Research/Indian Council for Medical Research and Indian Academy of Pediatrics. The symposium is likely to discuss issues as ROTAVAC – a new rota-virus vaccine; Rota-virus Disease in India; Licensed Rota-virus Vaccines; Global experience of rota-virus vaccines and Recommendations for Future Efforts./end