Trained CHOs to report diseases immediately

Kanpur: All community health officers (CHOs) of the district will now play an active role in screening, testing and treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as in routine vaccination programmes for children and pregnant women. As many as 50 community health officers were trained in these functions during a two-day workshop held under the directions of chief medical officer Alok Ranjan here that concluded on Tuesday.
The chief medical officer said children were vaccinated from birth till the age of five, so the vaccination card should be kept along with the due dates. Information about vaccination should be written on the card as well as entry should be made of the vaccine administered in the records. He said after vaccination, those who are administered the dose should wait for 30 minutes at the centre to see if there is any adverse reaction.
District immunization officer A K Kannaujia said the CHOs were being linked directly to management of five types of diseases, including paralysis, measles, mumps, whooping cough, neonatal tetanus. These patients must be reported immediately to the district immunization office and SMO of WHO.
Explaining the importance of regular vaccination, sub-regional team leader of the World Health Organization, B S Chandel, said if the child is immune post vaccination, he will not catch disease soon.
Chandel gave detailed information about the time period of vaccination from pregnancy to the child reaching five years of age and also explained in detail about what part to be jabbed and the dosage quantity. He said vaccines like TD, Hepatitis B, BCG, Polio, Penta, Rota, FIPV, PCV, Measles, Vitamin A, DPT are administered at the centres and information about them has to be spread. He said the first phase of the training was completed in March.