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Over 40 Radio jockeys and National Programming Heads of private FM radio stations gathered in the capital on 6-7 June 2014 for a first-of-its kind brainstorming and hands-on training workshop on Routine Immunization (RI) for radio professionals. The workshop was organized by UNICEF in partnership with AROI (Association of Radio Operators of India), as part of its efforts to build awareness on Routine immunization.

The two-day workshop brought together India’s top FM players from 9 priority states to stand up for a common cause-saving childrens’ lives from vaccine preventable diseases.      #uinnovate #GAVIalliance #gavi 

UNICEF & George Institute for Global Health deliberated on "Critical Appraisal Skills for Media reporting" on Routine Immunization on 22 May 2014. A group of over 40 communication specialists and heads of journalism schools from states with low #Immunization rates  discussed novel approaches to engage with media on health reporting. Media in its role of key influencer can take an evidence-based approach and bridge the gap in media coverage on Routine immunization. #oxforduniversity @Nuffield School of Population Health #uinnovate #GAVIalliance #gavi

BBC News: Eradicating polio one step at a time

By Vikas PandeyBBC Monitoring

Sita Devi says she is committed to keeping India polio-free

Continue reading the main story

A few years ago, India accounted for half the world's cases of polio. Today it is officially clear of the disease. This remarkable feat is largely down to an army of women who, one step at a time, have crisscrossed the country on foot to give the under-fives polio vaccines.

Sita Devi is one of India's "polio aunties". The 57-year-old often walks miles in the searing heat to find children in remote villages and communities who need vaccinating.

She is one of the hundreds of thousands of women working in Aanganwadis - health care centres - in India which provide free basic services to those who cannot afford to pay.

They are part of the Pulse Polio Initiative that was started in 1995 with the aim of eradicating the disease from the country.

Sita Devi often walks long distances in the heat to reach families in need of the vaccine

Since then, 12.1 billion doses of polio vaccine have been administered here.

In 2006 India still accounted for half of all global cases of polio - but earlier this year it recorded three years without a new reported case.

This achievement allowed the World Health Organization (WHO) to finally declare its entire South East Asia region polio-free.

'New problem'

Continue reading the main story

Countries in WHO SE Asia region

• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• Democratic People's Republic                           of Korea
• India
• Indonesia
• Maldives
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• Sri Lanka
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste

But now Ms Devi is worried. She doesn't know if she can persuade the families she works with in the rural areas around Allahabad in northern India to have their children immunised again.

She airs her concern at a morning meeting of Aanganwadi workers in one of Allahabad's regional health offices.

It's 45C (113F) outside and a rusty fan isn't doing much to cool the room down.

Ms Devi's worry is partly down to the success of the eradication programme - the next round of immunisations is due in June but many families do not see the logic in repeated vaccinations now that India is polio-free.

"This is a new problem. We must deal with it carefully so that people understand why we are giving the anti-polio drops," she tells Rajesh Singh, the regional health officer.

As a chorus of similar worries erupts, Mr Singh encourages the Aanganwadi workers to tell the families regular immunisation is important to keep the disease away.

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Vaccination drive against Japanese Encephalitis in three dists from May 5

PATNA: Bihar government is going to launch a special vaccination drive against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) from May 5 in three districts: Jamui, Sheikhpura and Lakhisarai. In the special drive, children in the age of 1-5 will be administered the JE vaccine.

Last year 12 cases of JE were detected in Bihar. JE vaccination campaign was launched in 2007 and till date, 19 districts of districts of the state have already been covered, said state immunization officer Dr N K Sinha. They include Patna, Nawada, Bhojpur, Muzaffarpur, Siwan, Gopalganj, Aurangabad, Vaisahli, Samastipur and Bhagalpur. Altogether, 31 districts of Bihar are JE-endemic. Around 10 crore children have been vaccinated against JE in India, of which 25% (2.3 crore) children are in Bihar.

In the current drive, children will be vaccinated at all the schools. In order to reach the uncovered children at schools, a door-to-door campaign will be launched in which the local health activists will mobilize people to the health centre where the injectable vaccine will be administered. Playing down the concerns whether private schools will come on board, a health official shared his experience about the drive in Patna and said, "Though some private schools were initially reluctant, they later came on board. A day before vaccination, teachers were asked to send a note to parents, informing them that on the next day the children will be vaccinated and if they did not want to give consent, they must not send their child to the school. However, most of the parents gave their consent."

At a workshop jointly organized by the State Health Society and PATH, an NGO, experts said there was no treatment against JE. "Antibiotics cannot treat JE. Only symptomatic treatment is possible. Vaccination is the only way to prevent it," said PMCH paediatrician Dr Nigam Prakash Narain.

Doctors also highlighted the fact that the culex mosquito that causes JE mostly breeds in rice fields. The virus enters the body through blood stream and infects brain and spinal cord and may render the child disabled for ever. "It should not be considered a disease that can hit only the poor because mosquitoes can bite anyone as they breed in stagnant water," said doctors.

Experts added, "Though vaccination is the best way to prevent JE, the importance of avoiding mosquito bites, preventing water stagnation and modification of pig rearing practices can't be ignored in fight against JE."

Fever with convulsions and chills and abnormal behavior due to brain dysfunction are common symptoms of JE. While 30% cases of JE are fatal, another 40% could lead to mental retardation.

Source: TimesofIndia

Urban Health Training Centre celebrates world immunization week

CHANDIGARH: World Immunization week was successfully celebrated by Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC, Sector-38), Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, PGIMER both at health facility level and at community level in Sector-38, Chandigarh from April 24 to April 30, 2014. World Health Organization's (WHO) theme for the year 2014 was "Are you up-to-date?"

The low income group (LIG) areas of the sector-38 were selected for the celebration of world immunization week since these areas recorded lower immunization rates and higher dropout rates compared to the corresponding higher income group of the same sector. The awareness and celebration campaign was done at respective Anganwadi centers of the LIG colony of Sector 38-A, D and C on 24th, 26th and 28th April, 2014 respectively. There were totally 32, 21 and 25 pregnant women and nursing mothers from LIG colony of Sector 38-A, D and C actively participated in this celebration.

Introduction was given by Dr. Kathirvel. S, Senior Resident about the vaccine preventable diseases and its effect, necessity for immunization against the diseases and its benefits and benefits of giving breast milk especially colostrum to children. He also elaborated the complete national immunization schedule under Universal Immunization programme. Dr. Sudip shared information with the gathering like when and where to go for immunization, what to do in case of missing dose and missing immunization card, what to do in case of in and out migration. The session also included the dos and don'ts in case of adverse event following immunization. 

A short movie on immunization was shown to the participants. At the end of the video session, queries raised by the group were addressed by the doctors. Information on optional vaccines to children and other pre and post exposure prophylactic vaccine like anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) was also shared with the gathering. The event was quite interactive in which the doctors cleared doubts of pregnant and nursing mothers regarding immunization. The mothers also expressed their satisfaction after the interactive session.

Source: TimesofIndia

Hilleman Labs to help India improve coverage of routine immunisation programme

Marking the start of the World Immunisation Week, the Hilleman Laboratories, an equal joint-venture partnership formed between Merck & Co. and Wellcome Trust, announced their innovative technological intervention, thermostability, to help improve coverage of the routine immunisation programme in India.

With the vision to achieve 95 per cent coverage of Expanded Programme of Immunisation in India which will merit 70 – 80 million doses annually, Hilleman Laboratories is bringing in innovation to act as a catalyst in bridging the gap between academia and product development by increasing the efficiency of existing vaccines with heat stable, easy to use, affordable and novel packaging features, said a release here.

Commenting on the current immunization scenario, Dr. Davinder Gill, chief executive officer, Hilleman Laboratories said, “With a quarter of the current birth cohort left unimmunised in the country, India severely lags behind even when compared with lesser developed nations as well as its immediate neighbours. We aim to compliment the current ecosystem and help expand the supply chain, adding scale and lowering the manufacturing cost; making the existing vaccines accessible and affordable for the unimmunised in India and other developing nations.”

According to WHO, 70 per cent of the world's 22.6 million unimmunised children live in 12 nations; with India home to the largest chunk of 6.9 million. According to the Immunisation Report by UNICEF and WHO, against the 67 per cent cover in India, our neighbours boasts a much higher coverage with Sri Lanka topping the list at 97 per cent followed by Bangladesh at 95 per cent, Bhutan at 92 per cent , Pakistan at 88 per cent and Nepal at 85 per cent.

“The solution to amplify this figure lies in distributing life-saving vaccines without the requirement for large bulk shipments, expensive warehousing and costly, difficult-to-maintain refrigerated shipping paths from the manufacturing plant to the patient, currently spearheaded by Hilleman Laboratories. One of the key breakthrough results the company presents is about the thermo-stable property of vaccines enabling it to withstand tough temperature conditions of countries in Asia and Africa,” the release said.

According to a recent McKinsey & Company report, one of the key constraints of enabling deeper vaccine penetration in India is attributed to limitations in distribution, public health delivery system and supply. Distribution is hampered by an inadequate cold chain and constraint to last-mile distribution, which has limited penetration of basic vaccines to 60-70 per cent.

Though vaccines have transformed public health throughout the world, for children in particular, the burden of vaccine preventable disease in India is still substantial.  Close to two million Indians died of vaccine preventable diseases in 2012. The grim irony translates from the fact that India is the largest producer of vaccines in the world.

Source: pharmabiz.com

The vaccine and its controversy

The MMR vaccine is an immunization vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles). It is a mixture of live attenuated viruses of the three diseases, administered via injection. The three vaccines (for mumps, measles, and rubella) were combined in 1971 to become the MMR vaccine.

​The MMR vaccine became the centre of a controversy following claims (which were subsequently established as fraudulent) that the vaccine was responsible for causing Autism-spectrum disorders in children. The controversy was kicked off in 1998 by the publication of a paper by British surgeon Andrew Wakefield in the medical journal The Lancet. Investigations later revealed that Wakefield had multiple undeclared conflicts of interest, had manipulated evidence, and had broken other ethical codes. The Lancet paper was partially retracted in 2004 and fully retracted in 2010, and Wakefield was found guilty by the General Medical Council of serious professional misconduct in May 2010 and was struck off the Medical Register.

ALARMIST NOTION

​Despite overwhelming scientific evidence for the fact that the vaccine's positive effects significantly outweigh any risks it may pose, some anti-vaccine groups in the US and UK have created an alarmist notion that the MMR vaccine is responsible for autism. Many parents have bought into this, so much so that several diseases, including measles, which had previously been controlled to a large degree, have seen serious outbreaks in the recent past. The New England Journal of Medicine has said that anti-vaccine propaganda has resulted in a high cost to society, "including damage to individual and community well-being from outbreaks of previously controlled diseases, withdrawal of vaccine manufacturers from the market, compromising of national security (in the case of anthrax and smallpox vaccines), and lost productivity.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/The-vaccine-and-its-controversy/articleshow/34130024.cms

Yellow fever vaccination centre to come up in Aundh

PUNE: The Union government's yellow fever vaccination centre, which was supposed to come up in the city two years back, is yet to take off as authorities have now decided to shift the venue of the centre to Aundh Civil Hospital instead of B J Medical College.

The change of location is due to the technical issues related to the procurement of medical equipment. "Earlier, we had decided to set up the centre at B J Medical College attached to Sassoon Hospital, which is under the Maharashtra government's Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). There were some technical issues in terms of procurement of medical paraphernalia. We have now decided to set up the centre at Aundh Civil Hospital which comes under the Maharashtra government's Directorate Public Health Department," said Vasant Gokak, senior regional director (regional office) of the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

"If everything goes as per our plans, the centre will become functional within a month," he said, adding that the Union government has also proposed to set up two more centres in Aurangabad and Nagpur.

Gokak said that the aim is to cater to the large number of people travelling to endemic countries in Africa and South America. Currently, they have to go to Mumbai to get the shot and obtain the mandatory yellow fever vaccination certificate, in the absence of which, they do not get the permission to travel.

Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhaegic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. 'Yellow' refers to jaundice that affects some patients. There is no cure for yellow fever. Treatment is symptomatic and is aimed at reducing the symptoms. "There will be a one-room facility at the government health centre. It will be manned by a medical officer and a nurse. It will offer vaccination only on fixed days and during fixed hours for those travelling to yellow-fever endemic countries," said a state health official.

Certain countries in South Africa and South America require travelers to get the yellow fever vaccination certificate. Also, people coming to India from these countries need a certificate stating that he or she is vaccinated otherwise they are quarantined at the airport hospitals and kept under observation for 10 days.

A yellow fever vaccination certificate is valid only if it conforms to the model certificate. The validity period of the international certificate is 10 years, beginning 10 days after vaccination.

Foreign nationals residing or who have passed through the yellow fever endemic countries during the preceding six days, are granted visas only after producing the vaccination certificate. After checking the vaccination certificate an entry read as 'Valid Yellow fever Vaccination Certificate Checked' is made in the passport of the passenger.

Fact sheet

Yellow fever is endemic in 33 countries in Africa and 11 countries in South America

The virus is transmitted in two ways - the sylvatic or forest cycle and the urban cycle

Transmission begins when vector mosquitoes feed on non-human primates infected with the virus. The infected mosquitoes then feed on humans

Once contracted, the virus incubates in the body for three to six days. The infection can occur in one or two phases. The first, 'acute', phase causes fever, muscle pain with backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, and nausea. In most patients symptoms disappear after three to four days

15% of the patients enter the second and more toxic phase within 24 hours of the initial remission. Along with high fever, the patient rapidly develops jaundice and complains of abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes or stomach. Once this happens, blood appears in the vomit and faeces. Kidney function deteriorates

(Source: World Health Organization)
Article Source: TimesOfIndia

Pentavalent Vaccine – reshaping the conversation

As India celebrates being officially declared polio free, it is critical that the legacy of polio eradication transcends across child health in India. In one of its final acts before the UPA Government wrapped up its term in office, the health ministry announced that eleven additional states are set to include the pentavalent vaccine in their routine immunisation programmes.

Polio eradication in India has rightly been hailed as one of the greatest global public health achievements. However, the pentavalent scale up announcement went largely unnoticed despite being a tremendous step towards ensuring that all Indian children are protected against vaccine preventable diseases. The pentavalent vaccine, includes protection against Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) to the existing diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) and hepatitis B. Hib is a serious threat to India’s children, causing an estimated 2.3 million cases of pneumonia and more than 35,000 cases of meningitis in 2000.

India currently has the highest number of children under 5 dying every year. According to Unicef, 1.4 million children every year die from largely preventable diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition and newborn complication like sepsis.  The pentavalent vaccine is a preventive tool in a comprehensive approach to child health. Early and exclusive breastfeeding, vaccines, hand-washing, zinc supplementation and oral rehydration salts could significantly reduce child deaths in India. Last month a special article published by India’s Ministry of Health in the Indian Journal of Pediatrics analysed all available evidence and found a significant burden of Hib disease in India to warrant the use of the Hib vaccine. The paper reasserted that the national introduction of a Hib-vaccine could prevent up to 72,000 child deaths every year.

In 2009, India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation advised the government to incorporate Hib via pentavalent into its national immunization program. Since then, around 8.2 million doses have been administered to children in nine Indian states and the government’s new scale up of the vaccine is a major step forward to ensuring that all children have an equal start in life. Over 100 countries use the pentavalent vaccine in their national immunisation systems. . Eighty-two of these countries use vaccines made by Indian manufactures. Despite providing pentavalent vaccines for the world, India is one of the last countries to protect its own children against Hib-disease. It’s time we ensure all of children have access to this protection, regardless of their families’ ability to pay. 

The pentavalent vaccine has long been available in the private market and is already in use in nine states. The Indian Academy of Paediatrics an umbrella body of 22,500 paediatricians, the World Health Organisation and many others have long supported the use of the pentavalent vaccine. A recent survey of over 1,000 paediatricians showed that over 80 percent have been using the pentavalent vaccine in their clinical practices for the last 5-15 years. Another crucial issue for vaccine introduction is the safety profile of a vaccine. All medical interventions carry some risk and public health programmes have to weigh the benefits and risks. The pentavalent vaccine has been tested in 23 clinical trials with more than 12,000 infants given the vaccine. After careful monitoring the results have shown the vaccine to be effective and have an excellent safety profile.  (Read: )

When new vaccines are introduced, it is critical that they are monitored closely in case of reports of adverse events from immunisation (AEFIs). For example, in Bhutan, Vietnam and Sri Lanka there were several cases of suspected adverse events reported. Each country suspended use of the vaccine and subsequently reinstated it following investigations by local governments and the World Health Organisation, which found no causal link between pentavalent vaccinations and reported infant deaths. India’s health ministry also set-up a mechanism to thoroughly investigate and evaluate all infant deaths and other adverse events reported around vaccinations by an expert committee. This was the case in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the first two states to receive the vaccine. All AEFI’s have been investigated and none have been reported as being connected with the vaccine.That doesn’t mean there are no risks or side effect to vaccines but the pentavalent benefits far outweigh the risks.

It’s not just the pentavalent vaccine, which is helping to save lives. Training health workers to wipe the umbilical cord with a disinfectant has been shown to reduce neonatal deaths by half. And the development of a new low cost indigenous rotavirus vaccine could save tens of thousands from diarrhoeal death or hospitalisation. Learning the lessons of polio eradication, the government has not been swayed by unfounded criticisms and is moving forward to ensure all children are protected against deadly disease. No child should suffer from Hib-pneumonia, meningitis or any other preventable disease when the power of prevention is already in our hands. 

Source: health.india.com

By: Dr CP Bansal April 1, 2014

New rotavirus vaccine showed promising results in India

The monovalent human-bovine rotavirus vaccine was effective and well tolerated among infants in India, according to recent study findings published in The Lancet

Nita Bhandari, PhD, of the Centre for Health Research and Development of the Society for Applied Studies in India, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the efficacy and tolerability of a monovalent human-bovine rotavirus vaccine (116E; Rotavac, Bharat Biotech International) for severe gastroenteritis in low-resource urban and rural settings in India. Children enrolled in the study were assigned to three doses of 116E (n=4,532) or placebo (n=2,267) at age 6 to 7 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks.

The overall efficacy of 116E against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis was 53.6%. During the first year of life, the vaccine efficacy was 56.4% against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis.

According to Bhandari and colleagues, to prevent one episode of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis, 55 infants must be immunized, and 31 must be immunized to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis of any severity. In the vaccine group, the incidence of severe rotavirus gastroenteritis per 100 person-years was 1.5 compared with 3.2 in the placebo group.

Immediate adverse events were reported in less than 1% of participants in each group.

“Finally, this successful product development validates the concept that new vaccines and other health commodities can be developed through socially committed collaborative efforts with effective government participation, and engagement of small- to medium-size enterprises resulting in substantially lower investment,” the researchers wrote. “In this regard, the vaccine is a product of a path-setting model for development of health technologies at prices that ensure increased access in places where these are needed most.”

In an accompanying comment, Shabir A. Madhi, MD, PhD, of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases at the National Health Laboratory Service, and Umesh D. Parashar, MBBS, of the CDC, said the efficacy is modest, but it would still have a substantial public health effect.

“Reassuringly, 116E vaccine was not linked with intussusception — an adverse event that has been associated with other rotavirus vaccines in some settings,” they wrote.

In another accompanying comment, Maharaj K. Bhan, MD, of the Ministry of Science and Technology for India, and colleagues wrote that the final success of the program would be complete licensure and introduction of the vaccine into the childhood immunization program in India.

“Much still needs to be done to achieve this goal, including research to test alternative formulations, further analysis to identify ways to increase vaccine effectiveness, and post-marketing surveillance to assess the risk of rare adverse events, such as intussusception,” the researchers wrote. “Nonetheless, proof of the efficacy of the 116E vaccine against a disease that effects almost every child in India, leads to millions of clinic visits, and hundreds of thousands of hospital admissions, and kills roughly one child in every 175-250 born in India before their fifth birthday, is cause for celebration.”

Oral polio vaccine must for travellers

PUNE: India has made oral polio vaccine (OPV) mandatory for all travellers across all age groups visiting polio-endemic countries such as Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria and Pakistan. The new regulation, which came into effect from March 1, is aimed at preventing re-entry of polio virus from these countries.

To enforce the new vaccination regime, the state health department has set up designated vaccination centres for travellers at its 33 civil hospitals and 16 state-run medical colleges attached hospitals. Besides, 26 municipal corporations in Maharashtra have also been instructed to set up such vaccination centres for travellers.

To ensure easy facilitation of OPV in Pune city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has started a designated OPV centre at its Narayan Peth vaccination centre. "Polio vaccine will be administered to all travellers from Maharashtra travelling to these polio-affected countries at these designated OPV centres. The new polio vaccination regime has come into effect from March 1," said state immunisation officer R M Kumbhar.

S T Pardeshi, medical officer of health (MoH), PMC said, "We have already made a vaccination centre operational at our Narayan Peth centre."

Milind Khedkar, PMC's designated medical officer of overseeing the work at Narayan Peth vaccination centre said that more than 50 travellers approached the centre for vaccination ever since it became operational from March 1. "Every day around 7 to 8 people travelling to the polio endemic countries approach the centre for OPV," Khedkar said.

The Union government has declared that any case of poliovirus would be treated as an emergency and high-quality surveillance has been in place to detect any untoward importation of the poliovirus into India.

The emergency preparedness and response capacity is being reviewed on a continuous basis and nearly 200 rapid response team members have been trained to roll out emergency response to polio. "The new polio vaccination regime has come since India is awaiting polio-free certification from the World Health Organization (WHO)," said another state health official.

For queries on OPV vaccination, PMC's designated medical officer Milind Khedkar can be contacted on 9689931102. People can also write in to pmc.immunisation@gmail.com

Why the new vaccination regime?

* India has not reported any case of polio for over 3 years

* However, the risk of polio persists as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria continue to be polio-endemic, re-infecting six countries in 2013 and causing major polio outbreaks in the Horn of Africa region and the Middle East

* In view of the persisting threat of polio virus importation, the independent monitoring board of the global polio eradication initiative, recommended in its October 2013 report that the International Health Regulations (IHR) should be used to ensure all people travelling from polio-endemic country have vaccination prior to travel, and this should be extended to any persistently affected country

* As per the WHO guidelines, until polio is eradicated globally, the risk of introduction of poliovirus in polio-free areas through travellers remains. Hence, all travellers, to and from poliovirus-infected areas, are advised to be adequately vaccinated.

* Earlier, in May 2013, the India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) on polio eradication recommended that the Union government should strongly promote the current WHO polio immunisation recommendations for travellers to and from endemic or infected areas

* India is taking several other measures to mitigate the risk of poliovirus importation. Continuous polio immunisation posts have been set up along the international borders with Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan.

* Initiated in 2011, the number of posts has gone up to 102 this year with nearly 4.2 million children immunized at these posts in the last two years

* All efforts are being made to maintain population immunity against polio through high quality polio immunization campaigns and increased routine immunization coverage

* Two national and six sub-national polio campaigns were held in 2013

* On January 13, India completed three years without a single case of polio. It was in 2011 that the last case of polio was reported in India, when a two year-old girl from Howrah district of West Bengal was paralysed because of the infection.

* However, the risk posed by travellers from polio infected areas continued to be a source of concern among the health officials.

(Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Polio is gone from India

'Polio Is Gone From India'
Vaccination Certificate Is Too Kinds Of The Pass Port
National Immunization Days, 2014 : (19th Jan 2014/23rd Feb 2014)

REDUCING RISK OF IMPORTATION FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

Continuous immunization at border crossing points and greater focus on border populations

SOME QUOTES FROM THE INDEPENDENT MONITORING BOARD

"India should demonstrate to every country where polio still exists, and to the world, that there is no such thing as impossible."

"India has demonstrated the value of a logical and systematic approach. It led to the quality of data being challenged and improved. It led to the programme wanting to learn from its trials and its errors, and improving as a result."

"For years, many believed that the challenge of stopping polio transmission in India would be the downfall of the Programme; that, quite simply, it could not be done. They have been proven wrong. What many thought unachievable has been achieved. Confidence in the Programme should receive a major boost as a result of this."

"Polio is gone from India – a magnificent achievement and proof of the capability of a country to succeed when it truly takes to heart the mission of protecting its people from this vicious disease."

It is
o Historic achievement
o Monumental milestone
o Unprecedented success

But.....

Threat of polio resurgence persists…

o A total of 389 polio cases reported globally in 2013
o Pakistan alone reported 91 cases in 2013 and first four cases in 2014
o 7 previously polio-free countries re-infected in 2013

MITIGATING RISK OF IMPORTATIONS – VACCINATION OF TRAVELERS

o Polio vaccination for travellers to and from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria from 1 March 2014

INBOUND TRAVELLERS TO INDIA: 

o Resident nationals required to receive a dose of OPV, regardless of age and vaccination status, at least four weeks prior to departure to India
o A certificate of vaccination with OPV required while applying for entry visa to India

OUTBOUND TRAVELLERS FROM INDIA: 

o Indian residents required to receive a dose of OPV regardless of age and vaccination status at least four weeks prior to departure.
o Each district in India has designated at least one center for providing OPV & vaccination certificate.
o RCHO is the designated official for issuance of certificate
o Vaccination certificate will be valid for one year
o Unvaccinated travelers shall be vaccinated at international airports
o State governments responsible for making arrangements to administer OPV at international airports
o Link to the GoI guidelines on "Requirements of polio vaccination for international travelers between India and polio infected countries".

PROGRAM PRIORITIES FOR MAINTAINING POLIO-FREE STATUS

o Maintain high population immunity against polio
o Ensure certification standard surveillance
o Be in a state of emergency preparedness to rapidly respond to any WPV importation
o Plan for Polio Endgame strategy

TRACKING AND VACCINATION OF NEWBORNS

o 2 million children vaccinated in congregations each year
o 8 million children in transit immunized in India each round
o 100,000 of these in running trains
o 250,000 settlements with migrants identified and covered

India continues to be polio free, however risk of importations remains as long as WPV circulates globally. Maintaining high population immunity essential for mitigating risks of WPV importations and emergence of VDPVs. Need to focus on high risk areas for maintaining high population immunity,

During polio campaigns
Intensification of routine immunization
Lessons learnt from polio eradication initiative are being used for strengthening routine immunization 

Source: e-pao.net

Halfway there - Delivering on the promise of immunisation for all

At the midpoint of the 2011–2015 strategy of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), Halfway There serves as a progress and accountability check on GAVI and its partners. the report evaluates performance and identifies weaknesses where efforts must be improved.

It focuses on the following areas:

• financing for immunisation
  
• progress in reducing the price of vaccines
  
• vaccine rollouts
  
• support for countries to strengthen their health systems
  and promote broader and more equitable coverage
  of immunisation
  
• GAVI’s governance

In conclusion, this report makes recommendations to GAVI, donors, countries receiving GAVI support, the private sector and civil society organisations. the aim is to help accelerate progress towards our shared goal – that all children enjoy the full benefits of immunisation

Read full story: Halfway there- Delivering on the promise of immunisation for all

Immunisation as a matter of justice.

  Article Source: The Hindu 

MP performs dismally; health dept learns no lessons

Date: 28 January, 2014
Media: Newspaper
Publication: Hindustan Times
Edition: Bhopal
Page: 1
Author: M Poornima

Immunization, reducing malnutrition in 11-point programme

JAIPUR: The health department will organize a special screening to identify malnourished children and admit them at malnutrition treatment centre (MTC) and boost immunization which have been included in the 11-point programme of department.

As far as immunization of children is concerned, till December, 60% of target for the financial year has been achieved. But they have three more months to achieve the full target. At present, vaccines are given to children against seven diseases including tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, hepatitis B and measles. The health department also plans to boost immunization that would eventually improve infant mortality rate (IMR).

In fact, more than 60% of the total target of administering polio drops was covered on Sunday. However, the officials claimed that they would achieve the target as they will continue to administer polio drop for the left over under-5 children for at least a couple of days in some identified districts.

A health department official said that the special campaign for immunization will be conducted in slums and other areas which are high risk areas.

Screening for malnutrition among children will also be conducted and it is also included in the list of 11-point programme. After identifying the malnutrition cases in the state, the children will be admitted to the MTCs. At the MTCs, they will be provided nutritious food. The state had earned bad name when Rajasthan topped list of underweight births in the country born between 2010 and 2011.

Also, registry of patients suffering from tuberculosis and treatment has also been included in the list of 11-point programme.

Moreover, sonograophy machines, X-ray and ECG machines which are not in working condition will be repaired

List of other works:

Registry of tuberculosis cases and their treatment

Proper disposal of bio medical waste

Special campaign for immunization

Disposal of equipment and items which are not in use

Ensuring doctors to wear badges

Cleaning of hospitals

Source: Times of India

Rotary celebrates India’s third straight polio-free year

Rotary members worldwide are celebrating a major milestone in the global effort to eradicate polio: India, until recently an epicenter of the wild poliovirus, will mark the third anniversary of its last recorded case of the paralyzing infectious disease on Jan. 13.

On the same day in 2011, a two-year old girl suffered polio paralysis in Howrah district of West Bengal. Since then, India has not reported any new cases of wild poliovirus.  

Leaders of the humanitarian service organization see the Jan. 13 milestone as a testament to the determination of its international membership of 1.2 million men and women — and especially the 122,000 Rotary members in India — to eradicate polio through the mass immunization of children, a goal Rotary took on in 1985.

In celebration of the decades-long battle and ultimate victory over this disabling disease in India, Rotary clubs throughout the country will illuminate landmarks and iconic structures on Jan. 13. India Gate in Delhi and Red Fort in Delhi and Agra are among the structures that will carry Rotary’s dramatic message — ‘India is Polio Free’.

The three-year achievement also sets the stage for the polio-free certification of the entire South East Asia Region of the World Health Organization in the first quarter of 2014 by the Regional Certification Committee. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to mark the occasion.

Rotary says the challenge now is to replicate India’s success in neighboring Pakistan (which is in a different WHO region), one of three remaining polio-endemic countries. Afghanistan and Nigeria are the others. Collectively, they create a reservoir from which the opportunistic disease can emerge to re-infect areas where it had been previously stopped. So-called “imported cases” are occurring now in Syria and several African countries. In 2013, imported cases in non-endemic countries outnumbered the total in the endemic countries 224 to 145, underscoring the importance of stopping the virus where it remains endemic.

“We must now stop polio in Pakistan to both protect Pakistani children and to safeguard our success in India and other countries where we have beaten this terrible disease,” says Deepak Kapur, who chairs Rotary’s India National PolioPlus Committee. “Until polio is finally eradicated globally, all unvaccinated children will remain at risk of infection and paralysis, no matter where they live.”

Rotary leaders in India are working with their Pakistani counterparts to share best practices and lessons learned during India’s successful anti-polio campaign. Rotary was particularly effective in obtaining the support of influential religious leaders in India’s Islamic communities, and Pakistani Rotary leaders are playing a similar role in efforts to counter rumors and misinformation about polio vaccinations that keep some Muslim parents from allowing their children to be immunized.

Meanwhile, National Immunization Days — during which Rotary volunteers join with health workers in an effort to reach every child under age five with the oral polio vaccine — continue in both countries. In India alone, more than 172 million children receive the vaccine during these mass immunization campaigns.

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the global initiative began in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 369 confirmed so far for 2013.

Rotary’s main responsibilities within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, and social mobilization. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year.

Source: DailyItem