New Delhi, October 1: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday said it has developed highly purified antisera for prevention and treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19). The highly purified antisera are developed by ICMR and Hyderabad-based Biological E. Limited. "ICMR and Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad have developed highly purified antisera (raised in animals) for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19," the body said. Coronavirus Live Tracker in India.

"Such measures have previously been used in medical science to control many viral and bacterial infections such as Rabies, Hepatitis B, Vaccinia virus, Tetanus, Botulism and Diphtheria," ICMR added. It said the plasma therapy could treat coronavirus, but "the profile of antibodies, their efficacy and concentration keep varying from one patient to another and therefore make it an unreliable clinical tool for patient management." COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Well-Tolerated, Generates Immune Response in Older Adults, Says Study.

"Standardization achievable through equine sera based treatment modality thus stands out as yet another remarkable public health initiative supported by ICMR in the time of COVID 19," ICMR further said. The announcement comes as the world is eagerly waiting for a vaccine against COVID-19 infection which has claimed over a million lives globally.

Antisera For Prevention And Treatment of Coronavirus Developed by ICMR:

The overall number of global coronavirus has surpassed 33.8 million, while the deaths have increased to nearly 1,012,900, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of Thursday, the total number of cases stood at 33,874,283 and the fatalities rose to 1,012,894, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2020 05:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).