India bans rabies vaccines made by China firm

Why it is in news?

India has ordered an immediate recall of rabies vaccines made by a scandal-hit Chinese company.

Rabies Vaccine

Vaccination against rabies is used in two distinct situations:
To protect those who are at risk of exposure to rabies, i.e. pre-exposure vaccination;
To prevent the development of clinical rabies after exposure has occurred, usually following the bite of an animal suspected of having rabies, i.e. post-exposure prophylaxis.

The vaccines used for pre-exposure and post-exposure vaccination are the same, but the immunization schedule differs.
Rabies immunoglobulin is used only for post-exposure prophylaxis.
Modern vaccines of cell-culture or embryonated-egg origin are safer and more effective than the older vaccines, which were produced in brain tissue.
These modern rabies vaccines are now available in major urban centres of most countries of the developing world. Rabies immunoglobulin, on the other hand, is in short supply worldwide and may not be available, even in major urban centres, in many dog rabies-infected countries.