Notices to health authorities on administration of vaccines

Shimla, Aug 3 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued notices to Director General of Health (central), Drug Controller, Central Government, Principal Secretary (Health) and Director Health and the state government on administering the anti rabies vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine through intra-dermal route.

A division bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and V K Ahuja issues notices on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Himachal Pradesh Upbhokta Parishad which alleged that the union and the state governments were not allowing the administration of anti-rabbies and Hepatitis-B vaccine through intra-dermal route.

The court, in its order, directed the respondents to reply within eight weeks.

The petition maintained that the order of central government of using the intramural route only when ten patients were available at the health center was illegal and prayed for quashing of the order.

The administration of the vaccines through intramural route was more effective and five times cheaper than the present practice of administering the vaccine through intramuscular route, it said.

At present, a patient had to pay more than Rs 1,500 for the post-bite rabies prophylaxes whereas with I/D route the cost would decrease five times to Rs 300, it said.

The petition said that the state government and the central government should allow this cheaper and better treatment for post-bite rabies prophylaxes.

It said the I/D route for Hepatitis-B vaccination was also equally effective and decreased the requirement of vaccine. This would provide cheaper treatment to the citizens and bring down the cost from Rs 450 to less than 150.

The petition also referred to universal vaccination for Hepatitis B and added that without having the prevalence study of the Hepatitis B, the state government was going to launch the universal vaccination programme.

The World Health Organization had recommended that universal vaccination should only be applied where the prevalence of the Hepatitis B infection was more than two per cent, it said.

The petition said that studies in Himachal revealed that the infection in the state was less than two per cent and prayed for issuing directions to the state to go for selective vaccination for Hepatitis B.

The petitioner also prayed for making available the anti snake venom at each health center as it was also a life saving a vaccine, more particularly in rural country.

UNI