BHUBANESWAR: With Japanese Encephalitis (JE) refusing to relent in Malkangiri district, the State Government on Wednesday started a training programme for health staff for mass vaccination.
Sources said around 26 lakh children in the age group of one to 15 years will be targeted in two phases in Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur districts.
In the first phase, the State has received 10 lakh vaccines and the vaccination will begin from first week of December in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Jajpur. Joint Director of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) Dr MM Pradhan said vaccination in Malkangiri will be taken up in second phase as the disease there is in transmission mode.
The training was imparted under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner (immunisation division) of Union Health Ministry Dr Pradeep Haldar.
While senior State level officials attended the training, similar programmes will be conducted at the district level involving school teachers, Anganwadi workers and PRI members.
Haldar said since vaccine is available only for JE, no one should remain under the impression that there will be no death from next year if all children are vaccinated this year.
‘’We are looking at acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) as part of the surveillance. JE is one component of AES. All AES cases are not JE but all JE cases are AES. Apart from JE, we don’t have vaccine for other AES cases,’’ he clarified.