Free vaccination campaign for Japanese Encephalitis to start in Bhopal from Feb 27

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 22 (ANI): The state health department is all set to start a free vaccination campaign for ‘Japanese Encephalitis’ disease for the children of age 1 to 15 years old in the state capital Bhopal from February 27.

The inoculation will be done at government hospitals and health centres in the city. The department is targeting the inoculation of around nine lakh children in the state capital and has made all possible preparations for the same.

Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO, Bhopal) Prabhakar Tiwari told ANI, “As we have received the instruction from the state government, we are planning to start this vaccination from February 27. We all know that Japanese encephalitis, commonly known as brain fever, is spreading in some parts of the country. It is a fatal disease and even children die from it. Generally, it occurs in children under 16 years of age and mortality is also high in it.”

“Some cases of Japanese Encephalitis have also been found in Bhopal in the last few years, although all those cases have recovered and no casualty was reported. It has been seen in most of the cases that they came from areas where this disease occurs continuously. In the first phase, children from 1 year to 15 years will be vaccinated and it will be a single dose vaccine”, he added.

“Once this campaign is completed, it is proposed to be included in the routing vaccination. When it comes into rooting vaccination, two doses will be given to the children. The first dose of the vaccine will be given at the age of nine months and the second dose at 16 months of age. It is important to administer this vaccine to all children because there is no hard immunity in the Japanese encephalitis vaccine,” Tiwari further said.

The CMHO also appealed to all the citizens to vaccinate all their children between 1 year and 15 years because the case fatality rate of this disease is 30 percent. 30 out of 100 children die and even among the children who survive, 30 to 50 percent are at long term risk.

“It is our request that this vaccine is being provided free of cost by the government, get it administered and keep your children safe. This vaccine is available at our routine vaccination centres and in some big hospitals this vaccine will be administered daily. Also, once the school examinations are over and the children start coming to school regularly, then we will organise camps in the schools according to the requirement and get this vaccine administered,” he said.

It is estimated that about nine lakh children will be inoculated during this vaccination campaign, the CMHO added.