Advanced anthrax vaccine developed

New Delhi: Indian scientists have developed a new vaccine for anthrax that could be less toxic and longer lasting than the one currently available.

A team of scientists from the Centre for Biotechnology of the Jawaharlal Nehru University has developed this vaccine, which is ready for clinical test. The vaccine is made of harmless mutant forms of three-key proteins that together make the toxin, which does the damage to humans infected with anthrax.

The team's findings were due to be made public at an international conference of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) in December. According to Dr Rakesh Bhatnagar, the laboratory testing of the new vaccine had been completed, and it would now be subjected to animal and human trials.

The new vaccine could replace the form currently in use, which although effective, has many side effects such as muscle and joint pains, headaches, fatigue, chills, fever and nausea. The anthrax toxin, which is responsible for the most dangerous effects of the disease, consists of three proteins - protective antigen, lethal factor and edema factor.

Individually, the proteins are non-toxic, but in combination they can be deadly. The vital protein is protective antigen, which binds to host cells and enables the other two proteins to enter. A harmless form of protective antigen is the main ingredient of the new vaccine.