INDIA'S FIRST COVID-19 VACCINE FOR ANIMALS:WHY THE NEED WAS FELT

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Last Updated12/06/2022

THE AGRICULTURE Ministry unveiled India's first Covid-19 vaccine for animals.
Developed by the Hisar-based National Research Centre on Equines, the vaccine, called Ancovax, can protect animals against the Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Ancovax can be used in dogs, lions, leopards, mice, and rabbits.
It is an inactivated vaccine developed using an infectious part of the Delta variant.
- In addition, it uses Alhydrogel as an adjuvant to boost the immune response.
This is the first Covid-19 vaccine for animals developed in India.

THE NEED:

There have been reports of Covid-19 infection in several animals, including dogs and cats.
It can also prevent transmission from companion animals to humans.
- The risk of animals spreading the infection to humans is considered low.
The aim of the vaccine is to protect endangered animals such as lions and tigers.
India reported at least nine Covid infections in Asiatic lions in Chennai zoo.
- One of the lioness likely died of it.
This prompted closure of tiger reserves for tourism.
A study by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute found at least three natural Covid infections in wild Asiatic lions, and a leopard cub was found dead and then tested positive for Covid-19.
The animals develop similar symptoms to humans - cough, cold, fever, and lung lesions.
However, since the disease is zoonotic it can be transmitted from animals to humans, a vaccine would help.

A killed vaccine for wild animals is always better than a live-attenuated vaccine (where a weakened live virus is used).
We avoid live vaccines in wild animals.
This is because a live vaccine might have been attenuated for one particular species, but it can still cause disease in another.