Darjeeling district health department started Japanese Encephalitis vaccination drive

The Darjeeling district health department has started a Japanese Encephalitis vaccination drive for adults in the blocks of Naxalbari and Matigara of Siliguri subdivision from May 14.

Asit Biswas, the chief medical officer of health of Darjeeling, said: "We have started the vaccination drive in two blocks of Matigara and Naxalbari from May 14. So far, 55,000 people have been vaccinated and we have not received any complaints of side-effects after administering the vaccine ."

Biswaranjan Sathpathy, the director of health services of the state, said: "As the JE vaccine supplied by the Union ministry of health and family welfare was less, we are conducting the drive only in eight blocks of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling in the state. According to the epidemiological data of the past two to three years, these are the districts which were worst affected by the disease in the state."

He added:"Naxalbari and Matigara are the two blocks in Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district where the vaccination is going on. In Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, the drive started from May 18 and will continue till mid-June."

The state health department officials had said that between January 1 and August 21 last year, there were 172 deaths from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and 44 deaths from Japanese Encephalitis in north Bengal.

The Telegraph