The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Hepatitis B vaccination included in immunisation programme

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 01, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hepatitis B vaccination included in immunisation programme

Ramya Kannan

Chief Minister to inaugurate the initiative on January 6

11.5 lakh children to be covered in the first year
To be launched simultaneously in all districts

CHENNAI: On January 6, Tamil Nadu will launch its first major public health initiative for the new year by including hepatitis B vaccination as part of its routine immunisation programme.

The Chief Minister will launch the programme on the day the first round of pulse polio is to be held. The public health department hopes to cover at least 11.5 lakh children during the first year of the programme to be launched simultaneously in all districts. Public Health Director P. Padmanabhan said the strategy is to cover newborns within 72 hours of birth.

Hepatitis B was passed on from mother to child during labour if the mother was already positive, he said. “However, irrespective of whether the mother is positive or not, we will administer the first dose of the vaccine to all children within 72 hours of birth,” Dr. Padmanabhan said. Children not born in institutions would be covered through the village health network. If the child was not vaccinated within that specified period, it could be included along with the DPT vaccine at 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 months.

The project was likely to cost Rs. 7 crore per annum, at Rs.30-40 per dose. Children would receive the vaccine free of charge, Dr. Padmanabhan said. The continuing expenditure would be borne by the state every year.

The move to include it as part of the routine immunisation comes after Tamil Nadu ran pilot programmes to administer the vaccine in four districts — Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar and the Nilgiris — way back in 2003. By ensuring universal immunisation, the State would be able to ensure that children were free of the virus, thereby reducing many hepatitis B-related complications later in life.

Appreciating the efforts of the government, gastroenterologist and long-time campaigner for the hepatitis B vaccination, K.R. Palaniswamy said it should have been done many years ago. In Korea and Taiwan, where universal hepatitis B immunisation had been introduced, the incidence of the disease was reduced. In turn, it had led to a drop in the number of chronic liver disease cases, Dr. Palaniswamy said.

When transmitted from the mother to the child during labour, the virus remained silent in the body and might not necessarily manifest itself immediately. However, the child continued to be a carrier, could spread it to other family members, and was likely to develop cirrhosis or cancer of the liver. The problem was huge, with about 350-400 million people affected worldwide.

“Considering that a person with liver disease has to be in and out of the hospital and liver transplant is rather in the beginning stages in our country, the best prevention is vaccine,” Dr. Palaniswamy said.

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