Children under 15 in Maungtaw Township receive encephalitis vaccinations

November 15, 2017

The Ministry of Health and Sports launched a nationwide encephalitis vaccination programme for children under the age of 15 yesterday in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State.

The medical officer of Maungtaw Township, Dr. Kyaw Maung Maung Thein, said this was the first step in a nationwide effort to control encephalitis, an incurable viral disease that affects children more severely.

,”The intention of the vaccination is to control the spread of Japanese encephalitis, especially for children under 15. We vaccinate mainly children from 9 to 15 years of age. This campaign is not only for Maungtaw Township, but for the whole country also.”

The disease is spread through mosquito bites, and the potentially fatal virus can harm the brain and cause irreversible neurological damage.

The vaccination can protect 85 to 100 percent of children from Japanese encephalitis, it is learnt from the staff of the health department.

“In 2016, there was an outbreak and 30 per cent of the cases were fatal. There are no encephalitis cases so far in Maungtaw Township”, said Dr Kyaw Maung Maung Thein.

The vaccination campaign will be held in Maungtaw region from November 15 to 23 for the first time and the second time from December 11 to 20. Ethnic villages and Muslim villages will be given the vaccinations in a separate programme, it is learnt from the Maungtaw health department.

One-hundred and fifty members of the health department including medical doctors are administering the vaccinations. About 2,000 children under the age of 15 were vaccinated yesterday, it was learnt.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar