P. Giridhar

Standardization of large scale production of homologous live attenuated PPR vaccine in India

Live attenuated homologous vaccine against peste des petits ruminants of sheep and goats was produced on a large scale basis in roller culture bottles using seed virus developed at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Muktheswar, India. Vero cells between 130–150 passages with six percent foetal calf serum were used for the production of vaccine. The cells were infected with 0.01 multiplicity of infection and harvested when the cytopathic effect was 80%. The vaccine was freezedried in order to maintain the stability of the vaccine. Identity test and titration was performed and the vaccine titre was monitored to be minimum of 105/100 doses. In-house sterility tests and quality control tests using experimental animals and small ruminants were performed. The vacuum and moisture content of the vaccine were also regulated to be within the normal limits.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Free-Roaming Wild Asian Elephant

Postmortem examination of a wild Asian elephant at Rajiv Gandhi National Park, India, revealed nodular lesions, granulomas with central caseation, and acid-fast bacilli in the lungs. PCR and nucleotide sequencing confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This study indicates that wild elephants can harbor M. tuberculosis that can become fatal.