Australia Flags Indian Rabies Vaccine
IIL emphasized that every batch of vaccine manufactured in India is tested and released by the Central Drugs Laboratory of Government of India before being made available for sale or administration.
New Delhi: A health alert issued by Australia raising red flag over suspected counterfeit Indian rabies vaccine 'Abhayrab', triggered panic and anxiety among people prompting the public sector firm Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) to clarify that the concern revolves around a specific batch identified in January 2025, and did not merit a blanket warning against it.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) last week issued a health alert saying Australians travellers who have been administered the anti-rabies vaccine Abhayrab in India after November 1, 2023, should consider the vaccination invalid and initiate a new course of vaccination as counterfeit batches of rabies vaccine have been circulating in India since November 2023 and people who may have received the counterfeit vaccine may not be fully protected against rabies.
As the ATAGI alert triggered wide scale panic among Indians and foreigners who have been vaccinated with Abhayrab, the IIL strongly refuted the over-cautionary and misplaced reference to 2023 made in a recent Australian health advisory, stressing that the advisory does not reflect the current situation.
Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) is a public sector company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which is a statutory body of the Government of India.
The vaccine maker made it clear that the particular batch under question mark is not in circulation and urged Australia to withdraw present advisory as it has the potential to create anxiety and mistrust among the public and healthcare practitioners.
IIL said that in January 2025, it proactively identified a packaging anomaly in one specific batch (Batch KA 24014). The company immediately notified Indian regulators and law enforcement agencies, lodged a formal complaint, and worked closely with authorities to ensure swift action. “This was an isolated incident, and the counterfeit batch is no longer available on the shelves,” IIL said in a letter to the Australian health body adding there is no instance of any other counterfeit batch in the market beyond Batch No. KA24014.
The company has urged ATAGI office to withdraw the advisory notification, in the interest of preventing potential complications in interpretations by healthcare practitioners and mitigating any negative impact on public trust in vaccines, particularly given the general public's limited awareness of technical details
IIL emphasized that every batch of vaccine manufactured in India is tested and released by the Central Drugs Laboratory of Government of India before being made available for sale or administration. “Supplies made through government institutions and authorized distributors remain safe and of standard quality. Said Sunil Tiwari, Vice President and Head of Quality Management at IIL.
The ATAGI said it has been alerted to the circulation of counterfeit batches of the rabies vaccine Abhayrab in India since 1 November 2023. ATAGI added that since it is difficult to confirm whether a person has received genuine or counterfeit vaccine, as a precaution, people who have received any dose of Abhayrab in India from 1 November 2023 onwards should be considered to have potentially received the counterfeit vaccine and offered replacement doses.