Soon, India may become the first country to have developed a vaccine to prevent Shigellosis—the dreaded diarrhoea that affects children under five years. The vaccine is being developed by scientists at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) and will enter clinical trials in the next one year. If trials succeed, the combination vaccine (tetravalent vaccine) could be the world's first approved vaccine to prevent Shigellosis.
The vaccine that is being developed in partnership with Hilleman Laboratories (a joint-venture between pharma giant MSD and Wellcome Trust) will be used to prevent the diarrhoeal disease of Shigellosis that affects 1,64,000 children in Africa and South Asian countries such as India.
According to the Indian Journal of medical Research, the high incidence of Shigella in the developing world is due to lack of clean water, poor hygiene, malnutrition and "close personal contact". Currently, the disease is being treated with a course of antibiotics over five days, and is the only form of diarrhoea that needs antibiotics, according to WHO guidelines. However, drug resistant strains of the bacteria are increasingly being observed and one among them is part of the WHO's list of pathogens that require new antibiotics.
Of the 50 serotypes of the bacteria causing the disease, this vaccine will provide total protection against four serotypes of Shigella, and about 80 percent protection against the rest, said Dr Shanta Dutta, Director, NICED.
If trials succeed, the vaccine will be marketed globally by the MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories, the CEO of the company, Dr Davinder Gill told THE WEEK. Gill said that the vaccine could take five-seven years to hit the global markets, and would be "affordable". Trials for the Rotavirus and cholera vaccines, also being developed by the company, are already on in Bangladesh, he added. Like the Rotavirus and the cholera vaccines, the Shigella vaccine combination will also be "heat stable", which is important in countries such as India where cold chain storage can be an issue.
Aside of a vaccine, experts say that public health measures such as safe water and adequate sanitation are effective in preventing Shigellosis.
