Till the late 20th century, it was the pain of people infected and the butt of jokes in a lot of Bollywood movies. Most millenials won’t know this but there was a time, the street dogs people pet without a second thought more often were rabid. The person had to get a 14 injections course of treatment for Rabies. Some had to be directly administered to the stomach. It was extremely painful; to the point it built aversions within people. Many people just didn’t go for the injections even after being bit figuring it all be good if they just let it be rather than going to a specialist.
Not realizing how dangerous rabies is.
Rabies is a viral infection that affects all mammals. It causes acute inflammation of the brain. The main indications of rabies can show up from a couple of days to over a year after the bite occurs. From the outset, there’s a shivering, prickling, or tingling surrounding the bite periphery. An individual additionally may have flu- like side effects, for example, a fever, migraine, muscle throbs, loss of hunger, vomiting, and perpetual tiredness. That’s all even before the neurological symptoms occur.
Prof. Rakesh Bhatnagar has addressed a very serious problem of our society. Rabies kills 20,000 people each year in India.
He has created the vaccine, which produces much more virus neutralizing antibodies than the conventional vaccine. Being devoid of foreign proteins, it is not likely to have side-effects. The vaccine does not require booster doses. No Elaborate purification is needed. It also does not need refrigeration as the DNA can be stored at room temperature, which makes it economical to produce and store. The vaccines have been made keeping Indian conditions in Mind.
Not his only Achievement
Apart from this achievement, Prof. Bhatnagar’s primary work has been in the field of Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) for as long as 20 years. He has been given the credit of developing a genetically engineered vaccine against anthrax. Additionally, his research team spearheaded the outflow of Protective Antigen Gene in the system of a plant, which denotes the primary achievement towards creating consumable immunization against Anthrax. his team is further examining ways to create DNA immunization against Anthrax. His Laboratory is additionally occupied with investigation of programmed cell death in prokaryotes. Prof. Bhatnagar and his team have also recently started research into important infectious disease systems like Mycobacterium, Brucella; planning to open roads for their control.
Scientists like Professor Rakesh Bhatnagar are heroes of Modern India. They are reminder for all to use our intellectual capacities to help humanity and serve a greater purpose of good.
Very useful information.