JOIN USJE vaccination drive to cover 4.7 lakh kids in Dakshina Kannada
A drive to administer Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccines across the Dakshina Kannada district will be held from December 5 and will cover 4,73,770 children in the age group of 1 to 15 years.
As many as 91,653 children in Bantwal, 60,192 in Belthangady, 2,23,176 in Mangaluru, 70,073 children in Puttur, and 28,676 children in Sullia will be covered under the drive in 3,514 vaccination centres, said DHO Dr Kishore Kumar.
The vaccination drive will be inaugurated at St Aloysius College in Lady Hill at 10 am on December 5. This year the vaccination will be covered in 10 lesser priority districts including DK, Udupi Yadgiri, Kalburgi, Bagalkote, Hassan, Tumkur, Ramnagara, along with 10 high risk districts including Vijayapura, Raichur, Koppal, Chitradurga, Ballari, Davangere, Kolar and Mandya.
Japanese encephalitis can become fatal and about 40 per cent of those infected may suffer from neurological complications. The vaccine recommended is inactivated and is safe. The campaign was launched in 2006. The first case of Japanese encephalitis was detected in West Bengal in 1973 and in Karnataka the first case was reported in Kolar in 1978.
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The District Health Officer (DHO) said during the drive, all the anganwadi centres and schools will be covered in the first week. During the second and third week, community based activities will be taken up to vaccinate those who have dropped out of schools and those who have not been covered under the drive. School teachers have also been informed about the merits of the vaccination drive so that they can communicate the same to parents for awareness.
The JE virus is transmitted through a bite from culex mosquitoes that have contracted the virus from infected pigs and birds. The symptoms include fever, headaches, convulsions, among others and affects only children.
In Dakshina Kannada, three confirmed cases of Japanese encephalitis were reported in the year 2018, 2019, and 2020. All three children have recovered.
However, because the district has culex mosquitoes, Japanese encephalitis cannot be ruled out. A mark on the left hand thumb will be made after every child receives the vaccination for identification purposes, said the DHO.