KARACHI, Feb 22: Speakers at a public awareness seminar here on Thursday stressed the need to check the use of improper and unfit vaccines for rabies victims.

They also called for using cell lines vaccines, instead of Sheep Brain Vaccine, like in other countries, in the case of rabies victims.

The seminar was organized by the Pakistan Society for Microbiology (PSM) at the University of Karachi.

The Head of Infectious Diseases at Liaquat National Hospital, Dr Naseem Salahuddin, informed the audience that the WHO had declared Sheep Brain Vaccine (SBV) unfit for immunization of human beings against rabies virus infection. She said, despite the WHO directives, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, was still manufacturing SBV vaccine, which was available free of cost in most of the government hospitals, where it was being used for immunizing poor patients bitten by rabid dogs.

She said many of the government hospitals did not gave passive therapy with anti-rabies Immunoglobulin to neutralize the virus in the infected wound because of its high cost (Rs30,000). She said in 1980 the Pak-Canadian Cell Line vaccine project was initiated at the NIH, but the project was abandoned, only after the production of 100,000 doses, due paucity of funds and departure of trained personnel. The institute had again started the production of SBV.

During a question-answer session, Dr Salahuddin, Dr M. Aslam Khan of the AKU, Dr Altaf Ahmed of the LNH — all members of the National Task Force on Rabies - informed the audience that a safe and highly immunogenic cell line vaccine was available commercially, but due to its high cost, ie, about Rs4,000 for five doses a patient, but it was beyond the financial capacity of hospitals to provide this vaccine to dogbite victims in Karachi.

They suggested that cost factor could come down if five doses of 0.02 ml of cell line vaccine were given by the intradermal route instead of 0.1ml by intramuscular injection, and it gave good protection against rabies infection. The President of the PSM, Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi, traced the history of rabies vaccine development and the disease. She said because of tremendous importance and public health implications, an increasing number of rabies and dogbite cases diagnosis could be supported by proper lab investigation.

She said rabies, a dreadful disease, was caused by the RNA virus which had high affinity with the nervous system cells. In addition to dogbite, the virus could also be transmitted through aerosol from rabid dog’s saliva as well as urine of bats which also carried the virus, she added.

She said at present many animal-derived vaccines were available, but the most effective vaccine was made from inactivated virus grown in human fibroblast (HDCV) which was highly immunogenic and provided protection when given before or immediately after infection.

According to Prof (Dr) Aqeel Ahmed, Joint Secretary of the seminar, all speakers recommended that the authorities take notice of the increasing number of rabies cases, efforts be made to eliminate stray and infected dogs, pet dogs be properly vaccinated, proper pre-and post-exposure treatment be made available in all government hospitals.

It was also recommended that the ministry of science and technology immediately make arrangements for the setting up of National Cell Culture and Viral Diagnostic Laboratories at Karachi University and in other major cities of the country to provide HDCV, anti-rabies immunoglobulin to provide protection against rabies as well as other viral diseases.