Researching on vaccine for monkeypox, if there's a need: SII chief Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India (SII) chief Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday said his company is researching on the vaccine for monkeypox and if there's a need for it amid detection of the virus cases in the country.

After attending a meeting with the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Poonawalla told reporters that all preparations for the vaccine are being done. "I briefed the minister on this. We are researching on the vaccine for Monkeypox and if there's a need for it."

Delhi today reported its third case of monkeypox, a Nigerian man. The national capital has so far three monekypox cases of which one has been discharged from hospital.

The country has so far reported nine cases of monkeypox, including three from Delhi and five from Kerala and one death.

The first case of monkeypox, a rare but potentially serious viral illness, was reported in the Kollam district on July 14 and the patient was discharged from the hospital last week.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune under ICMR has isolated monkeypox virus from the clinical specimen of a patient which can pave the way for development of diagnostic kits and vaccines against the disease.

With India isolating the virus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also invited expression of interest (EOI), proposing to hand over the strain to interested Indian vaccine manufacturers, pharma companies and in-vitro diagnostic industry partners for development of indigenous vaccines against monkeypox and diagnostic kits for detection of the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals), with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopox virus for public health.