The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Hepatitis B vaccination project launched

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007
ePaper


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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hepatitis B vaccination project launched

Staff Reporter

Project Yellow is expected to be completed in five years

COMBATING HEPATITIS B: Gastroenterologist S.K. Acharya (left), actor Sivakumar and MedIndia Trust Managing Trustee T.S. Chandrasekar (right,) at the launch of Project Yellow on Saturday.

Chennai : MedIndia Charitable Trust has launched a project to screen and vaccinate one lakh children for Hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B, a viral liver disease, can be life-threatening when it causes chronic infection. As children are more vulnerable to its harmful effects, MedIndia will offer free screening, vaccination and follow-up blood tests for them.

"The project seeks to help children who are poor, mentally-challenged, physically-challenged, orphaned or from rural and tribal areas across Tamil Nadu," said MedIndia Trust's Managing Trustee T.S. Chandrasekar.

Film actor Sivakumar launched the programme on Saturday. The programme — `Project Yellow' — is expected to be completed in five years. The trust has set up a hotline (98409-93131) that institutions and individuals can call from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to learn about the project.

Blood tests and vaccines cost Rs. 300 per child. Donations are accepted in favour of `MedIndia Charitable Trust' payable at Chennai. "Hepatitis B is preventable. However, once the disease has struck, treatment is very expensive," said Dr. Chandrasekar. Hepatitis B can lead to swelling of legs and stomach, muscle wastage and liver cancer. Infection spreads through sexual intercourse, mother-to-child transmission and usage of infected needles and razors.

MedIndia presented a gold medal to honour gastroenterologist S. K. Acharya, Professor, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Cancer Institute Chairperson V. Shantha presented the award.

Control of drug and alcohol abuse and high-risk sexual behaviour would help to curb the spread of Hepatitis B, said Dr. Acharya. He called for awareness programmes in schools and compulsory vaccination for all.

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