March of the microbe hunters

DRDE's kit provides instantaneous test for typhoid from patient's blood serum. (INSET) Brad spectrum insect repellent creams, lotions and wall paint, have scope for civilian spin-off.

THE FAX machine in the office of H. V. Batra, head of Microbiology at the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, comes to life, spewing out an urgent message from the Chief Medical Officer of Mayurbhanj district in Orissa.

A sudden epidemic suspected to be Leptospirosis has broken out in the a few villages. Quick measures are needed to treat the victims as well as a rapid diagnostic tool to scan the dozens of patients who are streaming into the primary health centres with identical symptoms.

The CMO is aware that DRDE has developed a diagnostic kit that uses the dot-ELISA method to definitely identify the `leptospira' within a couple of hours rather than days. Within hours Dr Batra and a fellow scientist are on their way, carrying a few hundred kits . They will eventually spend over a week in Orissa, helping local health agencies to contain the epidemic, suggesting the best chemical prophylaxis to control the number of new patients and assisting with the treatment of those afflicted.

As the Orissa government was to acknowledge later, it was timely, precious help. It ensured almost all of the 37 who succumbed to the infection, ultimately recovered.

On the frontlines of disease control, at the cutting edge of biotechnology, entomology, microbiology and toxicology it is difficult to draw neat lines separating core `customers' from the wider world of the suffering. DRDE's primary role is to provide research and development muscle to the Indian armed forces as they increasingly contend with the new realities of biological and other weapons of mass destruction.

Yet the work pursued here against challenging defence projects have invariably spilled into the civilian sector and spin-offs from the institution's primary focus areas have resulted in the development of internationally recognized technologies for disease control.

Anthrax was for long restricted to herbivorous animals. Now thanks to the global environment of terrorism, pulmonary anthrax caused by the inhalation of anthrax spores is yet another weapon in the hands of extremist organizations.

The work of equipping the Indian armed forces with the ability to take on this new threat has had one happy side effect: DRDE scientists have developed a system that can provide a confirmed diagnosis of the `anthracis' toxin in a human within 2 hours.

After extensive evaluation the World Health Organization ordered over 5000 anthrax detection kits for its work in Asia and Africa. A combined ELISA-type kit under advanced development, will provide a combined test for leptospirosis, typhoid and malaria. The Hindu reported last month ( on February 24) that DRDE has also released recently a quick and accurate test kit for typhoid that costs less than Rs 10 per test, and provides a result in minutes.

Preventing malaria rather than detecting it is the mandate of the lab's Entomology division. Indian troops stationed on the North Eastern borders have been provided the DRDE-developed multi-insect repellant DEPA acronym for diethylphenyl acetitamide in the form of a lotion ( and shortly as creams and sprays).

The patented technology with a Bureau of Indian Standards ISI certification is manufactured for the Army by a private agency, but somewhat surprisingly the vast civilian market is not being explored. " We scientists are lousy marketers" admits DRDE's Director K. Sekhar , a chemical technologist and propulsion expert who came to Gwalior from the Indian Missile Programme. Getting the fruits of costly research, often products that are not available even for those able to import, is an urgent mandate for the lab since he came on board.

Some of the requirements posed by the military may sound hilarious but for the scientists here it is just another challenge. "We developed rodent baits for the Navy" explains Dr. Shri Prakash, "But they came up with an unusual request: once it consumed the attractant tablet the rat tended to scurry up into the cable ducts where it could still do severe damage.

So they wanted us to develop a bait that prevented the rodent from entering the ducts. It took us a few months but we did come up with a formulation that paralysed the hind legs of the rodent".

The Naval Stores Organization was also a prime customer for another DRDE product that could well have wide commercial applications: a slow-release insecticide paint that provides protection for two years or more against a variety of pests including cockroaches and termites. Another mundane task with far reaching applications resulted in a kit that rapidly verified the resistance of insects to specific insecticides. "Largely due to excessive spraying, many flying insects develop resistance to certain formulations" explains Dr. Gopalan, "A quick check will reveal which insecticide is still effective and this can save a lot of ineffective spraying".

Away from insects, rodents and other domestic nuisances, scientists at the biotechnology and toxicology divisions of DRDE, deal routinely with dreaded toxins and biological warfare agents that seem to leap straight from the pages of a Robin Cook thriller.

The four best known toxins used in biological warfare are botulinum shiga ( induces dysentery), staphylococcus and perfringens (induces gas gangrene), I learn in matter of fact voice of Dr. Lokendra Singh. How to detect them, clear an area under attack and how to save those affected these are all in a day's work for DRDE scientists as they labour behind closed doors of secure lab rooms.

The second part of this report will deal with DRDE's work in perfecting chemical and biological defence systems, even as they work on many civilian applications that flow from this work.