India is taking its first step to introduce Controlled Human Infection Studies (CHIS) for vaccine and treatment development.
CHIS involves intentionally exposing healthy volunteers to pathogens in a controlled environment to study diseases like malaria, typhoid, and dengue.
CHIS has been a no-go area for India due to ethical concerns, but the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is set to change this.
The ICMR's Bioethics Unit introduced a consensus policy statement supporting the implementation of CHIS in India, addressing ethical issues while ensuring participant protection.
India has a high burden of morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, making the need for novel and cost-effective research methods essential.
CHIS offers unique insights into disease pathogenesis and can accelerate the development of medical interventions with smaller sample sizes compared to large clinical trials.
The social value of CHIS includes contributions to public health response, healthcare decision-making, policies, economic benefits, pandemic preparedness, and community empowerment.
CHIS is a complex area that may require collaborations between researchers, institutions, organizations, and countries to access the right expertise.
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