Question: who has made India’s first indigenous pneumonia vaccine ‘Pneumosil’?
a)Bharat Biotech
b) Reddy’s lab
c) Serum Institute of India (SII)
d) Ranbaxy
Answer: c)
Context
- The Serum Institute of India recently unveiled the first indigenously developed Pneumococcal Vaccine called Pneumosil. The vaccine was launched by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Facts
- Pneumosil was developed through collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH organization. It has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India.
- The vaccine targets the pneumococcal bacterium, which causes pneumonia and other serious life-threatening diseases such as meningitis and sepsis.
- Pneumococcal disease is a significant contributor under-five mortality rate worldwide.
- World Health Organization in 2018 recommended the inclusion of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in routine childhood immunisation programmes in all countries.
- PCVs have helped reduce pneumococcal deaths but are not affordable for many nations . Pneumosil presents a affordable option to countries.
- Key terms
- Conjugate: A type of vaccine that joins a protein to an antigen in order to improve the protection the vaccine provides.
- Polysaccharide: A type of vaccine that is composed of long chains of sugar molecules that resemble the surface of certain types of bacteria in order to help the immune system mount a response.
By – Kameshwar Shukla
Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/pneumosil-vaccine-pneumococcal-disease-7124129/