‘Mission Indradhanush’ to be launched in State next month: U.T. Khader

Bengaluru: Minister for Health and Family Welfare, U.T. Khader said here on Sunday that the Union government’s ‘Mission Indradhanush’, an immunisation programme, will be launched in the State from the last week of March.

It aims to cover all those children who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Khader said that in the first phase it would be taken up in five Hyderabad-Karnataka districts of Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppala, Ballari and Bengaluru (Urban) and in the jurisdiction of Bengaluru Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). It would be taken up in five Hyderabad-Karnataka districts as they have been considered high risk areas due to low record of immunisation. It would be taken up in BBMP jurisdiction and in Bangalore (Urban) due to high concentration of migration workers or labourers.

He said that the immunisation in the State would be carried out in the last four weeks of March, April, May and June.

The minister said that this year, 33 H1N1 death cases have been reported in the State till February 21. It was under control now, he claimed.

Earlier, he inaugurated the polio immunisation drive in Dakshina Kannada by administering polio drops to some children at the Government Lady Goschen Hospital.