Iran producing high quality TB vaccine
The director of the Pasteur Institute says Iran has succeeded in producing high quality tuberculosis vaccine in a modern way, Iran's Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported.
"Tuberculosis vaccine or BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerin) has been produced by the Pasteur Institute in a modern way and is now being sold in the domestic market," Dr Mostafa Qanei told a local news agency.
The current production of the vaccine is five to six million doses, meeting the domestic need in a year, which is used for vaccination of babies, he explained.
"The production of the vaccine and its endorsement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is an indication of Iran's capability of producing high quality vaccines in the world," he noted.
Qanei said with the permission of WHO, Iran is ready to raise its production to 20 million doses for export to regional countries in the next Iranian year, which begins on March 21, 2013.
BCG, which is the only vaccine available today for protection against tuberculosis, is the most effective in protecting children from the disease.
Bernama.com
