UNICEF: Rotavirus vaccine introduced to save upto 5000 lives in MP

Madhya Pradesh UNICEF Introduces free Rotavirus vaccine for children under the age of one which would prevent atleast 5,000 deaths due to diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus claims as many as 6,500 lives in the state every year, UNICEF Madhya Pradesh chief Michael Juma said at a seminar.   

"More than 5,000 of them can be prevented with 95 percent immunisation coverage of this vaccine. Forty per cent of severe diarrhoea cases require hospitalisation and as such, timely administration of Rotavirus vaccine has great potential to reduce diarrhoeal infections," UNICEF's communication specialist Anil Gulati quoted Juma as saying.   

Dr K L Sahoo, director, Madhya Pradesh Public Health Department, said the vaccine is being made available across the state.   

State Immunisation Officer Dr Santosh Shukla said the vaccine is painless and safest, and can reduce 40 per cent cases of diarrhoea. MP was the fifth state in India to launch this vaccine, he said.