Health check: Diseases strike back hard as vaccines are ignored

Hyderabad: Ignoring a vaccine can lead to re-emergence of the disease and while vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella are recommended worldwide there have been instances of people not opting for vaccination. The United States is seeing a resurgence of measles due to the anti-vaccination campaign and in India, with mumps not being a part of the universal vaccination schedule, there are fresh cases of viral infections being noted. 

The MMR is compulsory for children, according to paediatric associations and in the private sector, these doses are regularly given.

Dr Faisal Nadhi, senior paediatrician at Rainbow Hospitals, explained, “The vaccination of MMR is regularly given in the private sector. There are three doses which have to be given to children. Often it has been found that in the first dose, immunity is 70 per cent, second dose increases immunity by another 10 per cent and after the third dose there is complete immunity.”

He said there are children who are likely to suffer from the disease if their immune system is not strong. In that case, the disease will not be very aggressive and can be controlled. 

“Worldwide, vaccines are recommended and there is compliance, yet there are still a few cases being seen from time to time which are left out,” Dr Nadhi said.
In India, the left-out cases are those from extremely poor backgrounds, continuously migrating from one place to another and not in contact with health workers. In developed countries like the United States, it has been found that that anti-vaccination drive is leading to refusal of vaccines and hence the emergence of the disease.

The state immunisation wing stated that mumps was not a part of the universal drive and only rubella has been included in the last one-and-a-half years in the government programme.

District health officer Dr N. Rao said, “Mumps is not a part of the government programme. The vaccine is there in the schedule and parents are advised to give it.”

Pediatricians say there has been a surge in the cases of mumps which when compared to the last two years is very high. Children in urban areas are being brought in with severe swelling below the ears and fevers. The management of children in urban areas is better as parents are informed and come early to healthcare centres.

A senior paediatrician said the earlier government programme one-and-a-half years ago had all three vaccines — measles, mumps and rubella. “The government, in the last schedule, has shifted to measles and rubella due to which a large section of children have been left out. This is one of the reasons for the wild virus striking.”

The reason for the universal immunisation schedule is to protect children from preventable diseases like polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and other preventable diseases.