KOZHIKODE: Seven lakh-odd children in the age group of 9 month to 15 years in the district will be administered measles rubella (MR) vaccination as the campaign gets underway from October 3 to 24. The campaign covering 7,38,694 children will be carried out through 1745 schools in the first two weeks, and also through Anganwadies and other outreach stations and at all health centres. “The headmaster in the school concerned will ensure the MR campaign in the school. All the children who had taken other vaccines must take MR dosage,” said District medical officer (DMO) Dr. V. Jayashree.
According to Dr R. Sreenath, surveillance medical officer of WHO, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur districts are notorious for measles like North India. “In Kozhikode district, 82 cases of measles were reported last year, one of the victims died. There was also an outbreak. This year, 28 cases were reported so far,” he said. Regarding rubella, 12 to 15 cases of congential rubella syndrome had been reported this year at Kozhikode medical college alone.
“The WHO certified vaccine for the purpose was not exported from any foreign country but made in India. The Auto disabled syringe (ADB) cannot be used twice as it gets disused after a single use,” district RCH officer Dr Sarala Nair explained. It is estimated that more than 40,000 children die in the country due to measles and one in 1000 newborns succumbs or becomes disabled due to rubella. The vaccination is being carried out jointly by central and state governments under the guidance of the World Health Organisation.
