(I) PARTICULARS OF THE ORGANISATION, FUNTIONS AND DUTIES  

The Haffkine Institute was established in the year 1899. It has been  named after the scientist who discovered the plague vaccine. This is one of the oldest institutes of its kind in our country. The first ever Phase-I clinical trial in our country was perhaps conducted by the founder of this Institute in 1899, who injected himself with the plague vaccine which he had indigenously developed.

On the 10th of August 1899, the present mansion, which was at one time the residence of the then Governor of Bombay, was formally handed over to Dr. W. M. Haffkine by the Governor Lord Sandhurst.

The Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing  has emerged, today,  as a multi-disciplinary, full fledged bio-medical research Institute engaged in conducting research on various dimensions of infectious diseases such as Bacteriology, Bioavailability, Biochemistry, Chemotherapy, Clinical Pathology, Entomology, Human Pharmacology, Immunology, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Radiation Biology, Toxicology, Virology and Zoonosis. The Institute often acts as a reference laboratory for plague and materials are referred here by the WHO.

Susceptibility of rats to Yersinia, as well as to rodenticides has been studied in the Department of Zoonosis. V. cholerae has also been the subject of intensive study. Because of a lack of animal model for study, the pathogenesis of cholera was not understood for a long time. Dr. Dutta and Dr. Panse made a breakthrough when they reported development of typical cholera-like syndrome in infant rabbits. Since then, the rabbit model, has been used all over the world for the study of this disease and the elucidation of the mechanism of cholera toxin. Various strains of Vibrio have been studied at the Institute for their growth requirements at the macromolecular level.

The Institute has developed a Killed Tissue Culture vaccine for KFD (Kysanur Forest Disease) Virus and in the early 70's carried out research in Cholera carriers and epidemiology of Filariasis.

The Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing works through its three wings viz. Research, Testing and Training.

The current research areas in the Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing include studies of infections acquired in AIDS patients, improvement in the FMD vaccine, surveillance and microbiological analysis of typhoid, prevalence of drug resistance in bacteria, and continuous development of newer chemotherapeutic agents to combat microbial and zoonotic infections.

Recently, a state of the art laboratory has been established for diagnostic purposes for diseases like leptospirosis, malaria, dengue, etc. This laboratory caters services to the Government, Municipal and other hospitals. The laboratory also undertakes in-vitro anti-HIV testing for phytochemicals. The laboratory has developed an economical methodology for HIV viral count and drug resistance.

The Institute also serves as a premier teaching institution in the field of biomedical sciences and is affiliated to the University of Mumbai for M.Sc (Microbiology, Applied Biology & Organic Chemistry), Ph.D. (Microbiology) and M.D (P.S.M.) degree programs. In addition, the Institute undertakes specialized testing assignments/projects for pharmaceutical and other health-related products. The institute undertakes Annual Biotechnology Training Course for M.Sc., M.Tech. and B.Sc. students of Mumbai University and other universities in the country. Approximately 270 students have enrolled for this course and are initiated in recent research methodologies.

All the scientific activities are backed by a library, which boasts of a huge collection of scientific journals, books, monographs, other reference material, literature and search facility on electronic media.

A snake farm, created in 1938, is now engaged in a public education program with an objective to clear the misgivings and fear about snakes from the public mind and to educate people on the usefulness of snakes to human beings by explaining their role in biodiversity and ecology in today's era.

As research in communicable diseases is the first priority at the Haffkine Institute, its research programmes are organized to tackle problems of public health. It works in close collaboration with public health authorities at the state and central levels.

Biomedical research is aimed at bringing about lasting changes in the structure of our society. In a developing country, what matters is the priorities we set for progress in biomedical sciences. The Haffkine Institute has set its priorities in research in the context of the needs of the community. Its scientists have pledged themselves to harness science to solve the problems that still continues to plague millions of our countrymen.