Medical experts and representatives of pharmaceutical organisations called for standardising the Sabin inactivated polio vaccine, here on Wednesday.
A global workshop organised by the Seattle-based not-for-profit PATH is underway in the city to chalk out a plan that would eventually lead to standardisation of the Sabin inactivated vaccine. The Sabin vaccine is one of the two types available against polio. The Sabin IPV, in contrast to the original IPV, comprises inactivated polio virus types which are made from weakened polio virus used in Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). The original IPV developed comprises inactivated wild-type viruses, which pose a risk of handling and containment. According to Kutub Mahmood, Scientific Director of the Vaccine Development Programme at PATH, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the last two countries where polio infections continue to be reported. Explaining the need for standardisation of IPV vaccine, Mahmood said at present different manufactures use varying concentrations of the viral components.
