Jamaica's routine immunisation programme will now prevent the
sexually-transmitted disease, Hepatitis B as well as the germ
linked to brain inflammation.
EVEN THOUGH there is a vaccine against Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Influenzae b (Hib), thousands of children still die every year from these two vaccine-preventable disease. World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics indicates for example that in 2001, 521,000 children died of Hepatitis B, 3,000 of these children were younger than five years old. In the case of Hib, 450,000 children died of this condition in 2001, all of them small children, under five years old.
Vaccines against these two diseases have, for some time, been a part of the routine immunisation schedules of most developed countries Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, parts of Western Europe. Communique from WHO, have for some time also recommended the inclusion of these vaccines in the routine immunisation schedule.
These vaccines were however, only officially introduced to Jamaica's routine immunisation schedule on June 1, with the launch of a pentavalent vaccine a combo vaccine, offering protection against the two diseases in addition to diphtheria, tetanus (lockjaw) and pertussis (whooping cough), all previously covered under the national immunisation programme.
Health officials indicated in May, when they officially launched the pentavalent vaccine, that the lag time in the local introduction of these vaccines were related small size of the local population affected and to the cost of the vaccines.
Grace Allen-Young, Ministry of Health's permanent secretary, indicated that the addition of the new vaccine will cost an additional $50 million bringing the annual routine vaccination bill to $62 million. But on the other hand, as the cases of children Haemophilus Influenzae increase, the health sector was spending $70 million each year to care for these sick children.
Haemophilus Influenzae type b is a major cause of meningitis (inflammation of the brain) and bacterial pneumonia in children and apparently usually affects the children when they are still small under five years old. Dr. Sonia Thomas, senior medical officer at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, indicated that in 2001, 299 cases of meningitis were charted by the hospital and the compilation of the figure for 2002, while not complete, were already surpassing the 2001 figure.
Hepatitis B does not attract much attention in sexually transmitted infection promotion but like the HIV, it can be spread through unsafe sexual encounters, contaminated blood, infected needles and at the time of birth, when an infected mother passes on the disease to her new-born at the time of delivery.
Most people who become infected with the Hepatitis B germ get rid of it in a few months, most of them show no symptoms and become lifetime
carriers of the germ. Chronic Hepatitis B infection puts the individual at risk for permanent liver damage and liver
cancer.
Immunisation against this disease is therefore never too soon; it is one sexually transmitted disease which can be prevented with a vaccine.
The routine immunisation schedule
IN JAMAICA children are routinely given the following vaccination:
- OPV against Polio
- DPT against Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
- MMR against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
The new immunisation schedule for all children, with the addition of a pentavalent vaccine against Hepatitis B (HepB) and the Haemophilus Influenzae type B (Hib), started on June 1.
The new pantavalent is administered at the time when the DPT
vaccine would have been given under the old schedule.
The new schedule
- Age Vacine
- Birth BCG
- 6 weeks OPV, DPT/HepB/Hib (Pentavalent)
- 3 months OPV, DPT/HepB/Hib
- 5 months OPV, DPT/HepB/Hib
- 12 months MMR
- 18 months DPT, OPV boosters
- 4-6 years DPT, OPV, MMR boosters
