Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Wednesday claimed to have developed the world's first vaccine to fight the dreaded mosquito-borne Zika virus, which causes serious birth defects in children.
Chairman and Managing Director Dr.Krishna Ella told CNN-IBN," We have two candidate vaccines in development. This is the first such attempt in the world."
Dr. Ella said the vaccines were developed more than a year ago and they are now ready for animal trials.
The company is planning to approach the Centre to speed up regulatory clearances and bring the vaccine to the market.
"We hope to announce the arrival of Zikavac to the world as early as possible," he said.
Zika virus is commonly spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which also transmits diseases like dengue and chikungunya. It is known to result in abnormally small skulls -- a condition called microcephaly -- in newborns.
The disease is spread across 22 countries and territories, mostly in the Americas, prompting the "public health emergency of international concern".
India and other countries have issued travel advisories urging pregnant women not to travel to affected countries.
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