Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Move to preventing children from diarrhea

CHANDIGARH, JAN 5
Rota Virus Immunization would be introduced in Haryana in February 2016 with an aim to preventing the children from diarrhea. Haryana is the one of first States to introduce Rotavirus Vaccine on pilot basis along with Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha.
          This was disclosed by Additional Chief Secretary, Health Mr P.K Mahapatra after inaugurating a two-day State Level Workshop on Rota Virus here today.
          Mr Mahapatra said that under this programme,  vaccine would be available at all Government health facilities under the Universal Immunization Programme free of cost and would be given to all children at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age. He said that the vaccine is available in the private sector at Rs 3000 for a full course. Earlier, the benefits of this vaccine were available only to those who can afford but now it would be available to every child of the State irrespective of paying capacity.
          It may be recalled that Haryana Health Minister Mr Anil Vij, in May 2015, had written a letter to Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mr J.P Nadda for including Haryana in the Universal Immunization Programme. As a result of this, Haryana has been selected for the implementation of pilot project of Rota Virus.
          Mr Mahapatra said that in children with under nutrition, diarrhea might be serious with high chance of dehydration and death if not treated adequately. In India, around 1.7 million under 5 children die every year and 13 per  cent of these deaths were due to Diarrhea. Rotavirus accounts for 40 per cent of hospitalizations due to diarrhea in children. Also, it is responsible for nearly (annually, in U-5 children) 4.50 lakh to 8.84 lakh hospitalizations, 20 Lakh outpatient visits and 1.22 lakh to 1.53 lakh deaths. He said that approximately 50 per cent of Rotavirus-associated deaths occur in the first year of life and about 75 per cent occur in the first two years of life.
          Speaking on this occasion, Mission Director National Health Mission Dr Amit Aggarwal said that World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended Rotavirus Vaccine (RVV) introduction in national immunization programme of all countries, particularly those with high Rotavirus Gastroenteritis (RVGE)-associated fatality rates. 80 countries worldwide have introduced RVV in their national immunization programmes, he added.
          District Immunization Officers and District Child Health and Immunization Urban Nodal Officers were also present in the workshop. This workshop was facilitated by National and State Level Officials from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and partners like Johnsnow India, WHO, UNICEF, International Technical Support Unit and Bill and Milinda Gate Foundation.
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