Details About Chikungunya Vaccine
Context:
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just approved the first chikungunya vaccine in history. Valneva has been producing the vaccine under the Ixchiq brand. Those who are at a higher risk of contracting the virus and who are at least 18 years old can administer it.
- An injection into the muscle is used to deliver Ixchiq as a single dosage. The vaccination may elicit symptoms in the receiver that are similar to those of chikungunya patients because it contains a live, attenuated strain of the virus.
About Chikungunya:
- Chikungunya is defined by excruciating joint pain, limited range of motion, and fever. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are the main carriers of the virus (CHIKV), which has been called “an emerging global health threat.”
- Although occasional outbreaks have been documented in other locations, the WHO data sheet states that chikungunya is most common in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Up to September of 2023, India has over 93,000 suspected cases of chikungunya, according to the National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control.
- Since 2004, CHIKV outbreaks have increased in frequency and geographic scope, in part because of viral modifications that make the virus easier for Aedes albopictus mosquitoes to transmit.
- The joint pain can be severe and linger anywhere from a few days to several months. It is frequently incapacitating. Joint edoema, muscle soreness, headache, nausea, exhaustion, and rash are other symptoms.
- Since chikungunya and dengue fever can have similar symptoms, it is thought that the numbers of cases are frequently overestimated, even though severe symptoms and deaths from the disease are uncommon and typically linked to other comorbid health issues.
- There is now just symptomatic treatment available, including analgesics for pain management, antipyretics for fever reduction, rest, and enough fluid intake. Mosquito control efforts fall under the general categories of normal municipal upkeep and public health outreach. In order to stop mosquitoes from breeding, people are also encouraged to use medicated mosquito nets and make sure that no water is standing still in any of the containers in their homes.
Initiative of the Indian Government to Manage Chikungunya:
- The National Vector Borne Disease Control plan (NVBDCP) is a comprehensive plan designed to prevent and control the diseases that are spread by vectors, including dengue, chikungunya, malaria, filaria, kala-azar, and Japanese encephalitis (JE). The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare oversees its operations.
- Launched under the National Health Mission during the 12th Plan (2012–17), the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) establishes a Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) in Delhi, State Surveillance Units (SSU) at the head office of each State and Union Territory (UT), and District Surveillance Units (DSU) at every District. Its goals are to monitor disease trends, detect outbreaks in the early rising phase and use trained Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to respond to them. It also aims to maintain and strengthen decentralised laboratory-based and IT-enabled disease monitoring systems for epidemic-prone diseases.
Way Forward:
- This approval should expedite the roll-out of vaccinations in areas where chikungunya is more common, such as Brazil, Paraguay, India, and portions of western Africa, modelled after the COVID research fast-track programme.
