Government to conduct diphtheria vaccination drive in Karnataka schools from December 11

Bengaluru: Alarmed by 32 diphtheria deaths and over 606 suspected cases this year, the government is all set to start a vaccination drive in government and private schools across Karnataka. Of the 606 cases, around 450 involved children , including 20 from Bengaluru.

To begin with, the campaign will be conducted between December 11 and 31 to vaccinate children aged 5-6 or studying in class 1 with DPT booster dose 2 (against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus infections).

Children aged 7-16 will undergo TD (tetanus, diphtheria) vaccination. Owing to shortage of supply, the government will conduct TD vaccination drive in the nine worst-hit districts: Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Ballari, Koppal, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Chitradurga and Kalaburagi. Students of classes 2 to 10 will be covered.

As per the data, only 48% of the state’s children in the 5-6 age group are covered by DPT booster dose 2, which has prompted the state to take up the exercise.

“All children aged 5-6 and studying in class 1 will be covered under DPT vaccination. Since there are issues with supply of TD vaccination for older children, the focus is more on the most-affected districts as of now. In other parts of Karnataka (including Bengaluru) as well, we’re making efforts to cover children of classes 5 and 10 under TD vaccination. The department of primary and secondary education will send circulars to all schools explaining the need for diphtheria vaccination. Any concerns raised by parents and religious groups will be addressed,” said Dr Rajani Nagesh Rao, joint director, immunisation, health and family welfare department.

It may be recalled that 37 students from Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences in Kalaburagi suffered from diphtheria in early September. They were suspected to have contracted the infection from a paediatric patient who was treated at the medical college hospital. At a time when each clinically suspected case of diphtheria is to be treated as an outbreak, sudden spread of the infection led to serious concerns. Representatives from World Health Organisation visited the district in September and came out with an action plan.

A team of nurses trained by the health department will visit schools to administer the vaccine. Preparations are on to train school representatives and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs).

Sources said efforts are on upgrade the Students’ Achievement Tracking System (SATS) with their immunisation status. Primary and secondary education department maintains SATS data of all government school kids.

Box: Parents seeking exemption must show proof

Parents of students who seek exemption from the drive must display proof of their wards having been vaccinated against diphtheria June 2019 onwards. “Parents can get their children vaccinated (DPT/TD) in a private set-up by their choice of paediatricians if they don’t want them to be covered by the government initiative. But they must share the proof with school authorities before December 11. The vaccination drive will be held in all schools across the state,” said Dr Rajani.