Indian Immunologicals Limited in collaboration with CIBA-ICAR to produce vaccines for fish

Dr K Anand Kumar, MD, IIL, said, “we are the first in India to get to fish vaccines and are covering different kind of fishes and culture conditions."

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) on Thursday announced partnership with Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai, an Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) institution, to commercially develop a recombinant monovalent vireal nervous necrosis vaccine for finfish, which has been originally developed by CIBA.

Viral nervous necrosis (VNN) or viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) is an acute viral disease affecting several species of marine, brackishwater and freshwater fishes. The disease causes up to 100 per cent mortality in larval and early juvenile stages. Adult fish when infected, is asymptomatic but can transmit the virus to the offspring through eggs and gonadal fluids.

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Dr K Anand Kumar, MD, IIL, said, “we are the first in India to get to fish vaccines and are covering different kind of fishes and culture conditions.”

Viral nervous necrosis is a major threat for brackishwater aquaculture. The VNN vaccine developed by CIBA can prevent vertical transmission of the disease to the offsprings and prevent mortality in fingerlings. It can play a significant role in controlling the loss due to VNN in India and other Asian countries, Director, ICAR-CIBA, Dr Kuldeep K Lal said.