As part of its surveillance strategy to track zoonotic diseases (transmitted from animals to human), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed diagnostic kits to track the viruses in livestock. These are viruses that cause "rare and neglected diseases" such as Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Chandipura infection and Hepatitis E.
The disease burden is worrying; take for instance, Japanese Encephalitis virus that caused 226 deaths this year, according to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. The virus is transmitted through more than 15 species of Culex mosquitoes, predominantly found in rural and semi-urban settings. The other fairly common vector borne infectious diseases are Kyasanur Forest Disease and Chandipura Virus Disease, which have been posing a threat to public health with periodic life-threatening outbreaks.
Developed by scientists at the ICMR's National Institute of Virology in Pune, these kits are highly "sensitive" and specific, and give results in about three hours. According to ICMR, the new diagnostic kit for testing JE virus is "user-friendly" and gives results within four hours.
These kits have been developed by scientists at NIV, Pune and will be marketed and manufactured by Zydus Diagnostics. The kits are part of the government's surveillance strategy to detect these viruses in sheep, goats and mosquitoes and thereby "prevent them from reaching the humans", said Soumya Swaminathan, the outgoing director general at ICMR. "Zoonotic diseases are heavily concentrated in South East Asia and Africa. India has to take leadership in preventing these diseases. We are going to launch more such diagnostic kits in the near future," said Swaminthan, who is also, secretary, department of health research.
According to Swaminathan, who is set to take over as deputy DG at WHO, Geneva, next month, "timely diagnosis and treatment are critical" in case of neglected infectious diseases. "We must maintain constant vigilance through appropriate diagnosis, robust surveillance, monitoring and reporting mechanisms. Partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including the private sector, NGOs and community-based organisations are specifically useful in creating awareness, case detection, treatment completion and most importantly, managing stigma associated with these diseases. ”
Worldwide, two billion people suffer from several zoonotic diseases such as rabies, CCHF, and Japanese Encephalitis Virus, said H. Rahman, regional representative, South Asia, International Livestock Research Institute.
"Studies have found that the economic impact of a zoonotic disease such as Brucellosis (caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or under-cooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions) is Rs 22,000 crore. And this despite being on the government's priority list. Which is why we need to have diagnostic kits for livestock to ensure that such diseases can be detected in the animal itself," said Rahman. However, Rahman said that owners of livetsock resist getting their animals tested because once detected, the animal would cause losses. "The government needs to develop a mechanism to compensate the owners so that they don't resist testing," he said.
