Indian Immunologicals launches classical swine fever vaccine

Vaccine maker Indian Immunologicals Limited on Thursday said it has launched classical swine fever vaccine for pigs in the country   This cell culture technology-based vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) said in a statement. The classical swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease of pigs caused by an RNA virus and has a high fatality rate, it added.   The company, however, did not provide any details about the price of the vaccine.

The current requirement of a vaccine for this disease is about 220 lakh doses and the supply is less than 10 lakh doses, IIL said. The company's vaccine under the brand name 'Raksha Class' offers distinct advantages in terms of safety and can be scaled up in cell cultures to meet entire country's requirements, it added.

"The classical swine fever is one of the major diseases of pigs in India. It causes a loss of about Rs. 400 crore per annum in India. The disease has led to a decrease of pig population in the country. With the launch of Raksha Class, we can ensure that the pig population in India can be increased and hence, the growers will be immensely benefited economically,"  IIL Managing Director K Anand Kumar said..