Sunday, November 19, 2017

Ministry of Health's notification on Japanese encephalitis vaccinations



 November 18, 2017
The Ministry of Health and Sports issued a notification yesterday on Japanese encephalitis vaccinations, it is learnt.


According to World Health Organization (WHO), the Japanese encephalitis virus infects 3,000 to 6,000 people in Myanmar annually, but that number is likely to be much higher. Ninety per cent of those infected are children aged 15 years and below. Of those infected, 30 per cent are fatal, while many survivors continue to have long-term neurologic, psychiatric, or cognitive problems.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health and Sports is arranging to vaccinate children between the ages of 9 months and 15 years all over the country in cooperation with donor organisations Gavi, the vaccine alliance, WHO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

For the vaccination programme to be safe, a year of preparations were made using WHO’s estimate on possible post-vaccination problems, preventive measures and treatment processes included in the guidelines, experienced health personnel trained, required medications prepared for all vaccination teams and close observation work for post vaccination problems were set in place.

Countrywide vaccinations of 14 million children between the ages of 9 months and 15 years was started on 15 November, and 17 November vaccinating more than 5 million children.

Three children showed signs of severe post-vaccination symptoms and two recovered after being given preliminary treatments.
A 13-year-old child in Pinlaung Township, Shan State who showed signs of severe post-vaccination symptoms was given preliminary treatment in the township hospital and was transferred to Taunggyi Women and Children Hospital, but died on 16 November. A project manager and a field team from the central vaccination programme immediately went to find out the cause of the death and to see whether there was any connection to the vaccination. They are conducting laboratory tests with Shan State Health Department officials and specialists.

On 18 November, experts from the Ministry of Health, the Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) Management Committee, and the advisory committee on national-level immunisation work held a meeting to review the findings submitted by the field team. On 19 November, officials from the Ministry of Health, specialists, and officials from WHO and UNICEF will conduct a field visit and issue an announcement.

Japanese encephalitis vaccination work is being continued and additional measures were put in place to prevent and reduce occurrence of similar post-vaccination problems, according to the notification.

Enquiries on Japanese encephalitis vaccination work can be made to
(1) Dr. Than Tun Aung, Deputy Director General, Phone 095408973 and
(2) Dr. Htar Htar Lin, Project Manager, Phone 09428188188 it is learnt.

Myanmar News Agency
Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar

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