A doctor
vaccinates a child against Japanese encephalitis in Quảng Trị Province’s Cát
Village. The national immunisation programme, in 2017-2018, will give
supplemental vaccinations against Japanese encephalitis to children between six
and 15 years old.— VNA/VNS Photo Hồ Cầu
February, 25/2017
The national immunisation programme will give
supplemental vaccinations against Japanese encephalitis to children between six
and 15 years old, who did not receive the vaccine, or were not sure about their
vaccination schedule previously, in districts facing high risks of the disease.
The plan will be carried out in 2017-18.
The information was released by associate
professor Trần Như Dương, deputy director of the National Institute of Hygiene
and Epidemiology.
Dương said that Việt Nam saw about 1,000
cases of encephalitis per year, and 10 per cent of them were Japanese encephalitis.
Nearly 60 per cent of the cases were in
northern provinces.
Most patients are between one and 10 years
old and were unsure if they had received the vaccination or not.
Under the plan, children between six and 15
years old will receive three doses of the vaccine.
The plan will cover several districts in Sơn
La, Điện Biên, Lạng Sơn and Bắc Kạn northern provinces, Quảng Trị, Thừa
Thiên-Huế, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi central provinces.
The districts had at least one problem
related to the disease, including the rate of vaccination against Japanese
encephalitis being under 80 per cent, the rate of Japanese encephalitis equal
to or more than 1/100,000 residents, and fatalities caused by Japanese
encephalitis in two consecutive years.
The national programme will provide vaccinations
for about 3.4 million children, who are from one to two years old, per year
nationwide.
Experts from the Preventive Medicines
Department under the Ministry of Health said that Japanese encephalitis could
occur year-round, and the epidemic often occurs in summer months, because
mosquitoes can develop during those months.
Anyone who is not vaccinated can suffer from
the disease.
Experts warned that to prevent the disease,
people should ensure environmental hygiene, clean accommodation, use mosquito
nets while sleeping and not let children go near animals.
Experts said that vaccinations were the most
effective preventive measure.
But only one dose of the vaccine was not
strong enough, so children should receive three basic doses. The first dose is
when they are one year old, the second one or two weeks later, and the third
one year later. Children should also receive booster injections every four
years until they are 15 years old.
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