" The 44 people from Patan, who were tested, are now almost underground as they do not expose themselves due to certain kind of fear. The ward chief of the trial area now stands accused of giving permission to the test without knowing its pros and cons, while the innocent public were treated as guinea pig without knowing the process, terms and conditions, and the possible health hazards."
By Khemraj Upadhyaya
What could be the reason for the USDefence Ministry to be so keen as to deploy a controversial vaccine test team to Nepal? Many in Nepal already guess it is nothing other than America's foreseeing the need for its security troops to make strategic flights towards developing countries in the future, and the underlying fear that the disease may pose a big challenge to them there.
The American Defence Ministry is in process of developing a vaccine against Hepatitis E-- a much feared disease that frequently grips the Third World countries like Nepal. In this process, a sample vaccine against Hepatitis E was developed and a pilot testing was done on animals a few years back. Details of the testing, which is said to have showed positive results in animals are, however, not yet available in Nepal. Likewise, details of the second phase trial in which a total of 88 people, 44 Americans and 44 Nepalese, were made guinea pigs, also have been kept secret.
The community is also demanding that part of the profit from the research be returned to the people of the community. Unless positive assurance is received, no further "research" will be allowed, warn the members of the community.
The Walter Reed / Afrims Research Unit Nepal (WARUN) and Yala Urban Health Programme (YUHP) completed the first phase of the pilot testing in Patan (Lalitpur Sub Metro). Even as details have been kept secret, Ministry of Health is silent over the matter. The 44 people from Patan, who were tested, are now almost underground as they do not expose themselves due to certain kind of fear. The ward chief of the trial area now stands accused of giving permission to the test without knowing its pros and cons, while the innocent public were treated as guinea pig without knowing the process, terms and conditions, and the possible health hazards.
The WARUN and YUHP signed agreements with illiterate public in English language without mentioning what did the document actually contain. Now, even the Health Ministry has given green signals to the test on Hepatitis E vaccine, proposed to be conducted in eight different wards of Lalitpur. "During our series of meetings held with representatives of various organizations related to the issue, it has been concluded that the techniques used in the research and the vaccine are in accordance with national and international standards," claims Health Ministry spokesman Dr Benu Bahadur Karki. He claims the test/research programme to be "satisfactory" and "concluded without any hindrance." However, Deputy Mayor of Lalitpur, in a statement, had said people were strongly opposed to the vaccine test.
The pro-vaccine team has proposed that they will test the vaccine on at least 3000 people in Lalitpur. The volunteers to be included in the test will be vaccinated three times during the first one year of the 2-year test programme. Other process will include seven rounds of blood test and nine rounds of interviews. An additional lure is also offered: The volunteers will get Hepatitis B vaccination for free in case they caught the disease.
Lately, concern is being raised that the testing, if ever it is to be conducted, must follow the Helsinki declaration and Council for International Organisation for Medical Science guidelines. The test results from the earlier tests need to be made public before taking up the next testing. The detailed explanation of the foreseen piloting, with entire pros and cons, needs to be explained, in writing, to every person on whom the test is to be conducted, and the interaction and the deal should be in the languages most comfortable to the volunteers themselves.
Besides, the community people should not to be attracted by any kinds of misleading benefit packages, pressure or money. Any loss to health and life should be well insured, as the testing may cause harm even after more than 10 years. Even HIV/AIDS virus window period is more than 5-10 years in some cases. The test should be done simultaneously in developing and developed countries in equal numbers as per the international drug testing rules.
This apart, concerned agencies must also acquire research licence from respective governments as well as authentic research authority of the concerned country. Above all, the testing country or city or the person must also get proportionate royalties from the income derived from the sale and distribution of the vaccine.
Note: Hepatitis E is a disease which spreads through contaminated water causing severe liver complications such as jaundice, and needs a long period of time for recovery. Water-borne diseases are quite common among underdeveloped countries like Nepal. Although Hepatitis E is not considered dangerous, it can be fatal for pregnant women. The virus that causes this disease was first detected in 1983, which was named later in 1990 as Hepatitis E. In average, 1 to 3 percent of the cases succumb to the disease, while in the case of pregnancy it claims up to 35 percent of infected women and their foetuses.
Related Web Links
• What is Hepatitis E? Answer from Health On the Net Foundation
• Why Study Hepatitis E in Travellers to Nepal ? at tmvc.com
• US National Center for Disease Control & Prevention: Viral Hepatitis Homepage
• Hepatitis Foundation International
• Hepatitis Awareness Center
• Hepatitis A-Z
• Molecular biology and pathogenesis of hepatitis E virus, a paper by Shahid Jameel
• Hepatitis E Emerges as Significant Cause of Liver Inflammation Worldwide, a paper by by Harvey S. Bartnof, MD
Related Story Links
• New vaccine for hepatitis E, People's Review, Feb. 2000 • Vaccine forJaundice under study in kathmandu,The Independent, Feb.9-15, 2000 • Novavax And NIH Awarded Key Patents On Hepatitis E Vaccine, InteliHealth, 08 May 2000
Mr Upadhyaya is a social activist based in Kathmandu. He can be reached at khemraju@hotmail.com
By Khemraj Upadhyaya
What could be the reason for the USDefence Ministry to be so keen as to deploy a controversial vaccine test team to Nepal? Many in Nepal already guess it is nothing other than America's foreseeing the need for its security troops to make strategic flights towards developing countries in the future, and the underlying fear that the disease may pose a big challenge to them there.
The American Defence Ministry is in process of developing a vaccine against Hepatitis E-- a much feared disease that frequently grips the Third World countries like Nepal. In this process, a sample vaccine against Hepatitis E was developed and a pilot testing was done on animals a few years back. Details of the testing, which is said to have showed positive results in animals are, however, not yet available in Nepal. Likewise, details of the second phase trial in which a total of 88 people, 44 Americans and 44 Nepalese, were made guinea pigs, also have been kept secret.
The community is also demanding that part of the profit from the research be returned to the people of the community. Unless positive assurance is received, no further "research" will be allowed, warn the members of the community.
The Walter Reed / Afrims Research Unit Nepal (WARUN) and Yala Urban Health Programme (YUHP) completed the first phase of the pilot testing in Patan (Lalitpur Sub Metro). Even as details have been kept secret, Ministry of Health is silent over the matter. The 44 people from Patan, who were tested, are now almost underground as they do not expose themselves due to certain kind of fear. The ward chief of the trial area now stands accused of giving permission to the test without knowing its pros and cons, while the innocent public were treated as guinea pig without knowing the process, terms and conditions, and the possible health hazards.
The WARUN and YUHP signed agreements with illiterate public in English language without mentioning what did the document actually contain. Now, even the Health Ministry has given green signals to the test on Hepatitis E vaccine, proposed to be conducted in eight different wards of Lalitpur. "During our series of meetings held with representatives of various organizations related to the issue, it has been concluded that the techniques used in the research and the vaccine are in accordance with national and international standards," claims Health Ministry spokesman Dr Benu Bahadur Karki. He claims the test/research programme to be "satisfactory" and "concluded without any hindrance." However, Deputy Mayor of Lalitpur, in a statement, had said people were strongly opposed to the vaccine test.
The pro-vaccine team has proposed that they will test the vaccine on at least 3000 people in Lalitpur. The volunteers to be included in the test will be vaccinated three times during the first one year of the 2-year test programme. Other process will include seven rounds of blood test and nine rounds of interviews. An additional lure is also offered: The volunteers will get Hepatitis B vaccination for free in case they caught the disease.
Lately, concern is being raised that the testing, if ever it is to be conducted, must follow the Helsinki declaration and Council for International Organisation for Medical Science guidelines. The test results from the earlier tests need to be made public before taking up the next testing. The detailed explanation of the foreseen piloting, with entire pros and cons, needs to be explained, in writing, to every person on whom the test is to be conducted, and the interaction and the deal should be in the languages most comfortable to the volunteers themselves.
Besides, the community people should not to be attracted by any kinds of misleading benefit packages, pressure or money. Any loss to health and life should be well insured, as the testing may cause harm even after more than 10 years. Even HIV/AIDS virus window period is more than 5-10 years in some cases. The test should be done simultaneously in developing and developed countries in equal numbers as per the international drug testing rules.
This apart, concerned agencies must also acquire research licence from respective governments as well as authentic research authority of the concerned country. Above all, the testing country or city or the person must also get proportionate royalties from the income derived from the sale and distribution of the vaccine.
Note: Hepatitis E is a disease which spreads through contaminated water causing severe liver complications such as jaundice, and needs a long period of time for recovery. Water-borne diseases are quite common among underdeveloped countries like Nepal. Although Hepatitis E is not considered dangerous, it can be fatal for pregnant women. The virus that causes this disease was first detected in 1983, which was named later in 1990 as Hepatitis E. In average, 1 to 3 percent of the cases succumb to the disease, while in the case of pregnancy it claims up to 35 percent of infected women and their foetuses.
Related Web Links
• What is Hepatitis E? Answer from Health On the Net Foundation
• Why Study Hepatitis E in Travellers to Nepal ? at tmvc.com
• US National Center for Disease Control & Prevention: Viral Hepatitis Homepage
• Hepatitis Foundation International
• Hepatitis Awareness Center
• Hepatitis A-Z
• Molecular biology and pathogenesis of hepatitis E virus, a paper by Shahid Jameel
• Hepatitis E Emerges as Significant Cause of Liver Inflammation Worldwide, a paper by by Harvey S. Bartnof, MD
Related Story Links
Mr Upadhyaya is a social activist based in Kathmandu. He can be reached at khemraju@hotmail.com
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