Dipayal, May 10

District Health Office, Doti, has sent invitations to every household of the district to administer vaccines against Japanese Encephalitis to children between one to 15 years of age.

The DHO launched a vaccination drive for the first time in the district from Sunday.

The vaccination drive began in 47 districts across the country, including seven hilly districts of the far-west region from yesterday. The campaign will cover 27 districts, including Kailali and Kanchanpur of the region.

District Health Office, Doti, has urged district dwellers to administer the vaccine to their children against the disease. Female health volunteers have been distributing invitations to villagers of the district.

The campaign will begin on different dates in constituencies No 1 and 2 in Doti.

Joshi stated that the vaccination drive had already started in Constituency No 1 from Sunday, while it will begin from May 19 in Constituency No 2.

“Our goal is to ensure the participation of as many children as possible, and thus eliminate the disease from the district,” he added.

In Doti, 551 vaccination centres were allocated for the campaign, and both health workers and volunteer teams have been deployed in different centres.

Joshi informed that they had launched an orientation programme for health workers. A source at DHO said that the office plans to administer the vaccine to children below one year of age just after the completion of the first and second phases of the campaign.

The government launched the vaccination drive in almost all districts of the country after the disease was seen.

Japanese Encephalitis is a disease caused by a mosquito-borne virus, the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV).

Symptoms include excessive fever, headache, vomiting, and in advanced stages rigidity and convulsions.