Latest news with #WHO-recommended
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Commercial waste pollutes water bodies in K-P
A rescue worker rows a raft while searching for survivors, after tourists, who were on a picnic, were swept away by overflowing floodwaters in the Swat River, in Swat Valley in Pakistan June 27, 2025. Photo: Reuters Tourists planning a vacation to the northern areas try hard to locate a hotel with the perfect proximity to the nearest river or nearby mountains. However, the demand for picturesque views has come at the cost of the purity of water bodies in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Rafiq Lala, the head of a family that has lived in Mingora for the past 40 years, told The Express Tribune that during summers, local and foreign tourists would prefer to sit beside the river, lakes, and beautiful mountains to enjoy fresh fish from the Swat River. 'However, due to the rapid construction of hotels, encroachments along the riverbanks, and the discharge of sewage from hundreds of hotels into the river at various points, the river's water has become polluted and unfit for consumption,' observed Rafiq. Zehra, a tourist who has been visiting the Kalam and Swat valleys since the past 13 years shared the changes she observed in the purity of the water of the Swat River. 'Within a short period, the river's water has not only changed in colour but fish are no longer visible in it. I recall fishing in Kalam a few years ago, but now, seeing the current condition of the river deeply saddens me,' said Zehra. Around two years ago, a research study involving environmental experts from five universities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including the University of Peshawar, found that samples from river water, fish, human hair, and nails were tested for methylmercury levels. Samples collected from Upper and Lower Swat showed methylmercury levels 6 per cent higher than the WHO-recommended limits. The presence of methylmercury in the river water, its transfer to fish, and the eventual consumption of this water and fish by humans are leading to various health issues. Mohammad Rafiq, former Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar revealed that the permissible level of methylmercury in fish or the human body should be one micro cubic meter, but the research revealed levels far above normal which is causing serious health effects such as organ damage, typhoid in children, and gastrointestinal diseases. 'The sources of toxic chemicals in the Swat River include riverside constructions, use of cleaning chemicals in restrooms, and concrete particles mixing into the water, making it unfit and dangerous for use,' noted Rafiq. According to information obtained by The Express Tribune from the K-P Irrigation Department, there are about 1,600 hotels in Swat Valley and around 300 in Kalam Valley. The Swat River flows approximately 240 kilometers from Kalam Bazaar to Charsadda. Across several locations including Kalam, Mingora, Madain, Bahrain, Matiltan, Usho, Fizagat, and Khwazakhela, more than 200 hotels are directly responsible for polluting the river by dumping chemically contaminated wastewater and disposing of plastic and other solid waste into the river. However, over the past five to eight years, no major action has been taken against those polluting the Swat River. 'Within just the past one and a half months, 160 hotels involved in polluting the river have been issued notices, 15 hotels were sealed and fined, and 40 were given warnings. Under the River Protection Act, no construction is allowed within 200 feet of the riverbanks. However, demolishing existing buildings is a legal challenge, as court cases have been filed,' said Commissioner Swat, Abid Wazir. while speaking of the K-P River Protection Act, the implementation of which would require demolishing approximately 80 percent of existing buildings and hotels from Kalam to Chakdara. K-P Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah stated that a temporary ban on new construction at tourist sites had been imposed. 'All previously issued NOCs for construction in these areas have also been cancelled. A master plan is under consideration to tackle encroachments and poor drainage at tourist sites,' said Shah.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
AdFalciVax: India's shot at stopping malaria on its tracks
India will soon have an advanced vaccine against malaria. In a major scientific breakthrough, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed an innovative recombinant, chimeric multi-stage malaria vaccine that could transform malaria prevention and control efforts in India and globally. Named AdFalciVax, the vaccine has been developed to offer both protection against Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans and interruption of community transmission, unlike the existing two vaccines that can partially prevent infection in humans but cannot stop transmission in the community. The novel vaccine developed by Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar, one of the constituent institutes of ICMR, is now ready for technology transfer to manufacturers or organisations for production, clinical trials and its commercialisation. Preliminary trials on animal models have been highly successful. The pre-clinical validation of the vaccine has been conducted in collaboration with National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), another constituent institute of ICMR, and National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi, an autonomous research institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. A dual-stage game changer Unlike the currently available WHO-recommended vaccines - RTS, S/AS01 (Mosquirix), and R21/Matrix-M which have shown efficacies ranging between 33% and 67%, AdFalciVax promises dual-stage protection. It will not only shield people from contracting the deadliest strain of malaria but also prevent its spread within communities, considered an essential factor in breaking the chain of transmission. Dr Susheel Singh, scientist-D at RMRC, said AdFalciVax deploys a full-length PfCSP (circumsporozoite protein), a key surface antigen of P falciparum, for broader immune protection. It also incorporates a novel fusion of Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 proteins to induce potent transmission-blocking antibodies. 'The new vaccine can prevent human infection and interrupts transmission in the community, thereby tackling two critical developmental bottlenecks in the malaria parasite's life cycle,' Dr Singh said. The RMRC researchers said the vaccine has been developed using advanced protein engineering techniques and it leverages Lactococcus lactis, a safe bacterial host system, for antigen production. Additional director general of ICMR and director of RMRC Dr Sanghamitra Pati said preclinical trials conducted on mice showed robust and long-lasting immunity, even when exposed to 10,000 dual-transgenic Plasmodium berghei parasites engineered to express P falciparum antigens. 'The immune protection lasted over four months post-booster dose, which translates to more than a decade of protection in humans. The vaccine was administered with safe alum-based adjuvants and showed no adverse reactions,' said Dr Pati. Senior scientist Dr Subhash Singh was also a key contributor to the development of the vaccine. High stability at low cost The uniqueness of AdFalciVax over existing vaccines is its pharmaceutical stability. The formulation remains potent for over nine months at room temperature, doing away with the need for expensive cold chain logistics, which continue to be a long-standing challenge in vaccine distribution, especially in remote and under-resourced regions. The vaccine is also highly cost-effective, with an estimated production cost of just `20 per dose. The current vaccines are priced between `250 and `830 per dose. The affordability of the newly developed vaccine could make mass immunisation programmes significantly more viable. ICMR has now invited expressions of interest from eligible firms and manufacturers for technology transfer and commercial-scale production. The vaccine is expected to go for clinical trial stages soon and potentially be rolled out for public use in the next few years. However, the efficacy during the clinical trials will be the key.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
ICMR invites EoIs for tech transfer to commercialise malaria vaccine
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited expressions of interest (EoI) from eligible companies and manufacturers to undertake the transfer of technology for commercialisation of an indigenous recombinant multi-stage malaria vaccine candidate named AdFalciVax. The vaccine candidate, being developed by ICMR's Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar (ICMR-RMRCBB), aims to prevent plasmodium falciparum, a parasite which causes severe and fatal malaria, in humans and minimise its community transmission. According to the EoI, ICMR-RMRCBB will also provide expert guidance and technical support for the production of the vaccine in all phases, effectively accelerating its development and commercialisation. The agreement is proposed to be executed on a non-exclusive basis with single or multiple companies to enable wider outreach of the malaria vaccine for societal benefit and public health use. It added that the development may take at least seven years in four stages with each stage having a six-month buffer time. While ICMR would provide technical support through its team of experienced scientists in study planning and product development, the selected company would be responsible for obtaining all the regulatory approvals, starting from research and development (R&D) for product development to its commercialisation. The Council will also have no financial implications unless otherwise specified, however, its institutes would provide support and facilitation to conduct the R&D and clinical studies of new technology in India. The EoI adds that in case of transfer of technology, ICMR is the sole owner of the said technology, including any underlying Intellectual Properties and commercialisation rights. 'In case of collaboration between ICMR and the company for the joint development of the technology/product, the Background Intellectual Property (BGIP) shall always remain the sole and non-exclusive property of the party generating it,' the EoI said. As part of the agreement, the collaborating company will be required to share technical data with ICMR and participate in all discussions in a professional and mutually agreed-upon manner. 'Subsequent to the execution of the agreement, such companies/manufacturers shall be responsible to pay the royalty at the rate of 2 per cent on net sales, according to the ICMR Guidelines for Technology Development Collaboration,' the medical research body said. According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) World Malaria Report 2024, India contributes half of all estimated cases in the South East Asia Region, which in turn accounts for 1.5 per cent of the global malaria burden. India currently has access to two WHO-recommended malaria vaccines, Mosquirix and R21/Matrix-M. While the former is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the latter is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). Both vaccines are primarily for children in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission. 'Based on preclinical data, AdFalciVax may offer advantages such as broader protection and a lower risk of immune evasion compared to existing single-stage malaria vaccines,' an official in the know said. The pre-clinical validation of the vaccine candidate was conducted in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research, other constituent institutes of ICMR, and the National Institute of Immunology in Delhi, an autonomous research institute of the Department of Biotechnology.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Study models how malaria vaccines can help mitigate climate-driven breaks in disease control
New Delhi: A study conducted in Madagascar's households has found that new malaria vaccines -- offering protection up to 10 months -- could help mitigate disruptions to disease control measures because of extreme weather events. Malaria -- a mosquito-borne infectious disease -- is a serious public health concern, with climate change-driven temperatures and rainfall creating conditions more conducive for mosquitoes to thrive and spread disease, especially in tropical countries. Researchers from the US and Madagascar in Africa said that extreme weather events, such as tropical cyclones, can hit public health infrastructure and limit people's access to malaria prevention and treatment -- this can increase infection risk, especially in high-burden regions where continuity of care and disease control is critical. However, despite concerns, data on how climate-related disruptions affect malaria control remain scarce, they said. The study, published in the journal Science, analysed 20,718 observations of malaria infection -- collected from 500 households in the African country -- before and after cyclones Batsirai (2022) and Freddy (2023) to understand how well various malaria interventions performed under the strain of extreme weather events. "In the aftermath, infection rates by the mosquito-vectored parasite increased to 10 per cent for school-aged children within three months as mosquito and malaria control activities were interrupted," the authors wrote. Brief, under-a-month-long breaks in malaria control activities, such as use of preventive medications, resulted in "rapid rebounds in infection" -- up to half of school children and over a third of younger ones were infected in high-transmission areas, the team said. Modelling strategies that may mitigate these effects in the aftermath of cyclones, the authors found that the recently introduced, WHO-recommended malaria vaccines -- 'RTS,S' and 'R21' -- could significantly reduce infection rates and help in sustaining disease control measures during breaks caused by extreme weather conditions. A vaccine coverage of 70 per cent in the population was related with a 42-52 per cent reduction in infections, the models showed. Given the figures reported by the country for routine childhood immunisation programmes, 70 per cent coverage in the population is plausible, the authors said. They wrote, "When 70 per cent of the targeted population has completed the full course for a vaccine with effectiveness of 61 to 74 per cent (reported for the R21 vaccine in phase 3 trials) before the disruptive event, a 42.7 to 51.8 per cent reduction in the expected proportion of symptomatic infections is expected." However, the team also noted that vaccines alone are not enough to arrest disease spread and that layered strategies "combining vaccines, drug-based prevention, and traditional tools like bed nets are essential, especially in high-transmission areas where malaria remains persistent".
New Indian Express
6 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
RMRC Bhubaneswar develops advanced malaria vaccine, ready for tech transfer
BHUBANESWAR: In a significant breakthrough, a team of researchers led by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar, has developed a novel and advanced malaria vaccine that can prevent Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans and community transmission. The new recombinant, chimeric multi-stage vaccine code-named AdFalciVax has been designed to protect against the deadliest malaria parasite in humans. It is now ready for technology transfer to manufacturers for production, clinical trials and its commercialisation. Currently, two malaria vaccines are available and cost in a range of `250 to `830 per dose. The efficacy rate is between 33 per cent and 67 per cent. Unlike existing WHO-recommended vaccines RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) and R21/Matrix-M, AdFalciVax offers dual-stage protection and is cost-effective. Scientist-D at RMRC Dr Susheel Singh said the new vaccine can prevent human infection and interrupt transmission in the community. 'AdFalciVax uses a full-length PfCSP, a major protein found in Pf, for broader protection and includes a novel fusion of Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 proteins to produce strong antibodies that stop the transmission,' he said. What makes AdFalciVax stand out among the existing vaccines is its exceptional pharmaceutical stability. The formulation remains potent for over nine months at room temperature, eliminating the need for costly cold chain logistics, which continue to be a major bottleneck in vaccine distribution across remote and resource-limited regions. According to the researchers, the vaccine has been developed with the help of cutting-edge protein engineering using Lactococcus lactis, a safe bacterial host. The pre-clinical validation of the technology has been conducted by RMRC in collaboration with National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR) and National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi. RMRC director Dr Sanghamitra Pati said, 'The vaccine's efficacy was sustained for over four months post-boost, which translates to over a decade of protection in humans.' Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi has invited expressions of interest from the eligible organisations, companies and manufacturers for transfer of technology and commercialisation.
