Hepatitis vaccination to be made mandatory for school admissions

New Delhi, Dec 4 (UNI) Expressing concern over the large number of Hepatitis-related deaths, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today announced that hepatitis vaccination would be made mandatory for school admissions in Delhi.

''Hepatitis is a global health problem and is one of the most dreaded diseases. It is more common in India than other parts of the world. Hepatitis vaccination would be made mandatory for school admission as it would help save lives of children,'' she said while inaugurating the 9th Hepatitis Day Celebration at G B Pant Hospital.

The Directorate of Education would soon be asked to chalk out an action plan in this regard.

There are 350 million hepatitis B positive people in the world of which one million die each year from infection.

The numbers of patients dying of hepatitis B in a year is ten times more than that of HIV/AIDS.

The Chief Minister said around 36 lakh people are affected with Hepatitis in India. ''This figure comes to around 4 per cent,'' she added.

Ms Dikshit said there are many misconceptions about hepatitis among the public as well as the medical community.

''No public campaign gathers momentum till people adopt the programme as their own. The most important link in this chain is Youth Awareness. The onus of carrying forward the torch lies with the youth,'' she observed.

Hoping that the campaign will reach the people all across the country, she exhorted people to come forward for vaccination against Hepatitis.

''Even 30 per cent doctors have not expressed keenness for vaccination, which is alarming,'' she added.

The Delhi Government will soon launch an extensive campaign against Hepatitis.

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