Weekly Immunization Clips 7 July 2015-13 July 2015

1. Pune Mirror: Measles at large despite vaccine

A study conducted by central govt. and WHO revealed
measles vaccine efficacy not 100% and single dose of vaccine
not sufficient for children.
2. The Hindu: Fourth round of Mission Indradhanush
launched
Chief Executive Officer of the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat,
Anirudh Sravan launched the fourth round of the seven-day
Mission Indradhanush programme with the aim to immunize
pregnant women and children aged below two.
3. The New Indian Express: 'Vaccination Affects Kids
Adversely'
Unvaccinated Newborns are healthier than vaccinated ones
states Dr Jacob Vadakkanchery, chairman of Janarogya
Prasthanam based on his study.
4. The Times of India: NDMC to accept online applications
for yellow fever vaccines
Delhi people can now book slots for yellow fever vaccines
online on the website of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
5. The Times of India: No vaccination during Godavari
Pushkarams

Pune Mirror: Measles at large despite vaccine

Nozia Sayyed, 7 July 2015
Study conducted by central govt and WHO finds 76 per cent
of 1,000 cases in Pune region affected with the disease after
getting only first dose of vaccine.
A study carried out by the central government and World Health
Organisation (WHO) in Pune region, has found that despite having a
coverage rate of about 90 per cent, measles is prevalent and
continues to affect infants. The coverage rate in Pune is around 90
per cent for the first dose of the vaccine, though the study found
around 1,000 cases where measles were suspected, of which 76 per
cent were confirmed.

The estimates by WHO claimed that almost 35 per cent of global

deaths due to measles were reported in 2011 in India. Considering
the death toll, the government committed itself to eliminating
measles by the year 2020. "Taking this into account and to find the
measles vaccine efficacy for children who were vaccinated with the
first dose, this study was conducted in Pune region," said Dr AP
Narula, surveillance medical officer, WHO.
"Over 1,000 suspected cases were reported from Pune region,
including Haveli, Khed and Shirur. Of them, 76 per cent were
confirmed cases and of these 76 per cent, 95 per cent were less
then 15 years of age which shows that measles can also affect older
children," he added.
"Besides this, the infection was found mainly in those who had only
one dose of vaccination at nine months of age. This shows the
importance of the second dose of measles that can increase the
vaccine efficacy and improve the child's immunity in fighting the
infection," Narula further stated.
"The incidence rate of measles is more than 250 per million persons
a year and nearly half the cases were affected due to outbreaks.
Through this surveillance, we noticed that the high incidence of
measles and the frequent outbreaks were in infants covered in the
vaccination programme. This made it evident that a single dose of
measles vaccine is not sufficient for children already suffering from
autoimmune disorders or is weak. To prevent further outbreaks,
parents should be urged to vaccinate their children against measles
twice as many tend to miss the second dose," said Dr RM Kumbhar,
state immunization officer, Government of India, who was also part
of the study.
"Through this study, we also found that of the remaining nonmeasles cases, most were rubella infection. We have urged the
government to include this in the national immunization
programme. The suggestion is still under consideration and chances
of the launch of a rubella vaccine will be announced early next
year," Kumbhar added.
"Besides this, the study helped us in strengthening our surveillance
programme, which is essential in implementing and evaluating
measles immunisation strategies across the state and is helping us
in monitoring the progress towards measles eradication in the city

as well as the state, said Kumbhar.

DOCTORS SAY
Measles vaccine efficacy is around 85 per cent, which means only
that many children can develop immunity against measles
There are 15 per cent chances that children might fail to develop
the immune response and thus get infected due to measles after a
single dose of vaccination
An infant, who has already suffered from measles, has a higher
chance of succumbing to diseases such as pneumonia, other
infections within the first three years of his/her life as measles is
known to directly affect a child's immunity

The Hindu: Fourth round of Mission Indradhanush launched

T.V. Shivanandan, 8 July 2015
The fourth round of the seven-day Mission Indradhanush programme
to bring pregnant women and children aged below two under the
immunization cover was launched here by Chief Executive Officer of
the Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat Anirudh Sravan on Tuesday.
The programme covers seven childhood diseases and seven
antigens and vaccines will be provided.
Officials in the district Health and Family Welfare Department said
that the coverage so far had exceeded the target fixed for
Kalaburagi district.
In the first three rounds, 24,740 children and 6,694 pregnant women
were covered against the original estimate of 22,657 children and
5,481 pregnant women.
However, it is not clear whether the campaign will be continued for
the fifth round.
District Health and Family Welfare officer Mohammad Zakir Ansari
said that as per a fresh survey, another 2,379 pregnant women and
10,946 children had been identified as those uncovered or partially
covered.
They would be covered in the fourth round, the official added.

The New Indian Express: 'Vaccination Affects Kids Adversely'

Express News Services, 12 July 2015

KOCHI: Children who are not given any vaccination soon after birth
are found to be healthier than children who were given vaccination,
results of a study revealed.
This is the finding of a study we conducted. We welcome all the
agencies to investigate the veracity of our finding, said Janarogya
Prasthanam chairman Dr Jacob Vadakkanchery at a press
conference here on Wednesday. According to him, some of the
vaccines used in India are banned in the United States, and the
main cause of a large number of new diseases among children is the
toxic components in vaccines.
Instead of fighting diseases, these vaccines create bigger health
problems. The IMA has been making vaccination compulsory with a
motive to create more patients, for the sake of business, he said.
Dr Jacob said it was an absurd move to make vaccination
compulsory without conducting an in-depth study among children
given vaccination and those who are not.

The Times of India: NDMC to accept online applications for

yellow fever vaccines
PTI, 12 July 2015
NEW DELHI: Delhiites travelling to tropical and sub-tropical places in
Africa and South America can now apply online for yellow fever
vaccination on the website of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
The online facility was launched last week. Earlier, the travellers had
to visit NDMC headquarters to submit applications for yellow fever
vaccination, following which the council used to allot them an
available slot.
Yellow fever is a haemorrhagic disease caused by a virus of the
genus Flavivirus transmitted to humans by the bite of infected
mosquitoes.
Though the epidemic is not prevalent in India, climatic conditions for
propagation of the virus and vector responsible for transmission are
present in the country. So it is mandatory for Indians travelling to
Africa and South America to be vaccinated.
Anyone, except for infants up to the age of 9 months, arriving by air

or sea without yellow fever vaccination certificate is detained in

isolation for up to 6 days if the person has arrived through an airport
situated in an area with risk of yellow fever transmission.
"Once the travellers plan their trip, they can apply online and select
the earliest vacant slot available. There will be 50 vaccination slots
available weekly," a senior NDMC official said.
Travellers can get vaccinated at the International Inoculation Centre
on Mandir Marg in the council's jurisdiction from 2pm to 4pm every
Wednesday and Friday.
Around 5,000 people come to the NDMC center for vaccination
annually. The fee for vaccination is Rs 300 per dose.
Travellers can also submit their applications to the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi; however, there is no online application process
available yet.

The Times of India: No vaccination during Godavari

Pushkarams
Syed Akbar, 13 July 2015
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments have
geared up to fight snake and dog bite cases during the 12-day
Godavari Pushkarams, scheduled to begin on July 14. However,
there will be no mass vaccination against water-borne diseases
including cholera even in slum areas.
Medical and health officers in seven districts in the Telugu states
through which the river flows argue that there is no need for
vaccination against cholera as they have taken enough measures to
provide the best medical facilities to pilgrims in case of an
emergency.
While some DMHOs said they had not received any instructions from
the government to take up vaccination drive even in vulnerable
groups, others expressed the confidence that since Godavari
Pushkarams being a spiritual event there will be no health risks.
Moreover, they argue that large-scale chlorination of water in the
river is being taken up to kill the harmful bacteria and other diseasecausing germs.

The confidence of the senior district medical officials

notwithstanding, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) during the
Allahabad Kumbh Mela in 2013 had recommended vaccination
against cholera. "As recommended by the World Health
Organization, cholera vaccines should be used preemptively in
endemic areas and in crises situations and not as outbreak control
measure," the IAP said. It also pointed out that cholera vaccine
could be used in special circumstances where there is a risk of an
outbreak such as during pilgrimages like Kumbh Mela.
Health experts said though Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are not
endemic to cholera, a large number of people from cholera endemic
states like Odisha and West Bengal attend the Godavari
Pushkarams. Moreover, the Central Pollution Control Board in its
latest report has included the stretch of the river Godavari from
Rayanpeta to Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh and Kamalapur to
Burgampahad in Telangana in the list of highly polluted water spots.
Pilgrim centers like Basara, Bhadrachalam and Rajahmundry-Kovvur
fall within these stretches.
"If the chlorination is done properly and the chlorine levels are
monitored on hourly basis, there may not be any risk to the pilgrims.
But given the compromised sanitation conditions and the laxity on
the part of officials after the initial euphoria, it is better the pilgrims
themselves take preventive steps to remain themselves free from
water-borne diseases and skin ailments," said senior physician Dr IR
Subba Reddy. Contaminated water may spread infections caused by
Escherichia coli (gastroenteritis), Vibrio cholera (cholera) and Rota
virus (diarrhea).
Researcher S Sridhar, who conducted a comprehensive review of the
Kumbh Mela 2013, pointed out that since such river festivals lead to
increase in population density and reduced hygienic conditions, they
make the pilgrims susceptible to easy transmission of diseasecausing germs. In the study published in the Journal of Clinical
Microbiology and Infection, he along with co-researchers P Gautret
and P Brouqui warn that "respiratory, fecal-oral, vector-borne,
zoonotic, blood-borne and sexual modes of disease transmissions
have been identified previously in mass gatherings".
Karimnagar district medical and health officer Dr Md Aleem told TOI
that a massive sanitation drive was launched at all bathing ghats.

"We do not expect any health risks. Cholera vaccination used to be

given about 20 years ago. We now have improved sanitation," he
added.
Warangal DMHO Dr Sambasiva Rao said they had kept enough
stocks of vaccines and medicines to treat dog and snakebites and
water-borne diseases, besides all types of medical emergencies.
West Godavari DMHO Dr K Sunanda pointed out that high standards
of sanitation are being maintained and there will be no health risk
for the pilgrims. "It is a spiritual event. We do not anticipate any
risks. If any emergency arises, we have positioned enough medical
teams to cope up with the situation," she clarified.