Vaccine to protect lions against CDV in clinical trial stage, Guj govt tells Assembly

Gandhinagar, Mar 14 (PTI) Clinical trials of a vaccine to protect lions against canine distemper virus (CDV), a highly contagious disease which had killed several lions in Gujarat four years ago, has begun, the state's Forest and Environment Minister Kiritsinh Rana said in the Assembly on Monday.

Responding to a written question raised by BJP MLA Jitendra Sukhadia during Question Hour, Rana said the task to develop the vaccine against CDV has been given to state-run Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centrev(GBRC) in Gandhinagar.

"To develop the vaccine, GBRC has already prepared a formulation after performing characterization of CDV. Clinical trials are currently underway" Rana informed the House.

In 2018, as many as 23 lions died in Gir Sanctuary, the last abode of Asiatic lions. At that time, the state government had said a combination of CDV and Protozoal infection was responsible for the death of at least 11 of 23 lions in the span of one month.

CDV is a highly contagious disease that attacks the immune system and other vital organs in animals, with the infection being fatal in most cases. PTI PJT PD BNM BNM BNM