YANGON, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- About 14 million Myanmar children, aged from nine months to 15 years old, will soon to be vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis across the nation starting from Nov. 15, official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday.
Under the management of the Ministry of Health and Sports, the vaccination programs will be conducted into two different themes, school-based vaccination program which will be conducted from Nov. 15 to Nov. 23 and people-based vaccination program from Dec. 11 to Dec. 18, respectively.
The school-based vaccination program will be conducted in designated local and international schools at different education levels as well as monastic education.
Meanwhile, the people-based vaccination program will be conducted in hospitals, regional health centers and designated private homes.
The authorities are also exerting efforts to reach every child in the country with vaccines under the program, especially in difficult-to-reach villages and border areas.
Japanese Encephalitis virus is maintained in a cycle involving mosquitoes and vertebrate hosts, mainly pigs and wading birds. Humans can be infected when bitten by an infected mosquito.
Some infected patients will develop neurological
symptoms including tremors, seizures (especially among children), as well as mental status changes and movement disorders.
Japanese Encephalitis can be fatal in 20 to 30 per cent of cases and most of survivors continue to have neurologic, cognitive or psychiatric symptoms.
