Tareen Rahman :
Scarcity of varicella vaccine, used to protect the viral disease commonly known as chickenpox, has appeared as a big problem before the health workers when the diseases is spreading fast in different parts of the country now-a-days.
Health officials cautioned that the vaccine would not be available in Bangladesh 2016 until new supply arrives.
Expressing severe concern over the issue, Dr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Program Manager of EPI [Expanded Program on Immunization] and Surveillance, said: “The chickenpox vaccine was never available in Bangladesh under the EPI Program. But it was available in the private hospitals and clinics. The scenario is all the same now.”
“Although chickenpox is most common among the children in Bangladesh, the vaccine for this disease has not been included under our EPI program. Usually the people, who did not got the chickenpox vaccine, will get chickenpox at some points in their lives,” he said.
For many years, in the season running from February till April, there is a huge outbreak of the chickenpox disease in Bangladesh, specially among children. And the main reason for this outbreak is the non availability of the chickenpox vaccine in the country at private levels.
Medical experts said the chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It can spread easily.
‘One can get it from an infected person who sneezes, coughs, or shares food or drink. One can also get it if you touch the
fluid from a chickenpox blister. A person who has chickenpox can spread the virus even before he or she has any symptoms, until all the blisters have crusted over,’ they said.
If someone you live with gets chickenpox, your risk is even higher because of the close contact. But anyone can prevent chickenpox by getting the chickenpox vaccine, they added.
Doctors recommend two doses of this shot [vaccine] for healthy children of 12 months of age and older who have not had chickenpox.
If anyone has been around a person who has the virus and you have not had chickenpox or the vaccine, he may be able to prevent the illness gettting a shot of chickenpox antibodies or the vaccine right away.
In rare cases, people who have had the vaccine still get chickenpox. A few people who have already had chickenpox get it again. If this happens, a milder form of the illness usually occurs, with fewer blisters and symptoms. This is called a ‘breakthrough infection’.
Doctors recommend that parents do not expose their children to chickenpox on purpose. Some parents expose their children to chickenpox because they think it is safer for children to have the illness when they are young. But this isn’t a good idea, because even young children can have serious problems from chickenpox, the doctors daid.
Scarcity of varicella vaccine, used to protect the viral disease commonly known as chickenpox, has appeared as a big problem before the health workers when the diseases is spreading fast in different parts of the country now-a-days.
Health officials cautioned that the vaccine would not be available in Bangladesh 2016 until new supply arrives.
Expressing severe concern over the issue, Dr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Program Manager of EPI [Expanded Program on Immunization] and Surveillance, said: “The chickenpox vaccine was never available in Bangladesh under the EPI Program. But it was available in the private hospitals and clinics. The scenario is all the same now.”
“Although chickenpox is most common among the children in Bangladesh, the vaccine for this disease has not been included under our EPI program. Usually the people, who did not got the chickenpox vaccine, will get chickenpox at some points in their lives,” he said.
For many years, in the season running from February till April, there is a huge outbreak of the chickenpox disease in Bangladesh, specially among children. And the main reason for this outbreak is the non availability of the chickenpox vaccine in the country at private levels.
Medical experts said the chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It can spread easily.
‘One can get it from an infected person who sneezes, coughs, or shares food or drink. One can also get it if you touch the
fluid from a chickenpox blister. A person who has chickenpox can spread the virus even before he or she has any symptoms, until all the blisters have crusted over,’ they said.
If someone you live with gets chickenpox, your risk is even higher because of the close contact. But anyone can prevent chickenpox by getting the chickenpox vaccine, they added.
Doctors recommend two doses of this shot [vaccine] for healthy children of 12 months of age and older who have not had chickenpox.
If anyone has been around a person who has the virus and you have not had chickenpox or the vaccine, he may be able to prevent the illness gettting a shot of chickenpox antibodies or the vaccine right away.
In rare cases, people who have had the vaccine still get chickenpox. A few people who have already had chickenpox get it again. If this happens, a milder form of the illness usually occurs, with fewer blisters and symptoms. This is called a ‘breakthrough infection’.
Doctors recommend that parents do not expose their children to chickenpox on purpose. Some parents expose their children to chickenpox because they think it is safer for children to have the illness when they are young. But this isn’t a good idea, because even young children can have serious problems from chickenpox, the doctors daid.
