The preliminary technical phase of anti-snake and anti-scorpion venom serum production has been conducted and it is now in the quality assurance stage before final approval by the Food and Drug Administration, said Dr Mostafa Qanei, head of Iran’s Pasteur Institute (IPI). The institute successfully produced a vaccine for rotavirus in the last fiscal year that ended on March 19. “Rotavirus (a contagious virus that can cause gastroenteritis or inflammation of the stomach and intestines) vaccination will be integrated into the National Immunization Program in the near future,” IRNA quoted him as saying. The vaccine can prevent 95% of diarrhea mortalities among infants.
