Molecular relationship between field and vaccine strain of measles virus and its persistence in Pakistan
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GENETIC VACCINES AND THERAPY
RESEARCH
Open Access
Molecular relationship between field and vaccine strain of measles virus and its persistence in Pakistan Masaud Shah, Sulaiman Shams and Ziaur Rahman*
Abstract Background: Countrywide 5.9 million, 0-11 Month old children are immunized annually by EPI (Expended Program on Immunization) against 8 vaccine preventable diseases including measles and so on. Unfortunately the basic immunity centers are not uniform throughout the country. Each center provides services to about 27000 people which is inadequate. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of EPI Pakistan in terms of immunization of measles. Methods: Nucleotide sequences were analyzed by neighbor joining method (bootstrap test) using Bio- edit and MEGA-5 software to find evolutionary relationship between wild type measles strain and vaccine strain (Edmonston strain) used in Pakistan. For statistical analysis of data SPSS 16 was used. Results: Currently 1.3 vaccinators are working at each U C (union council) which according to national EPI policy should be at least 2. About 56% and 44% children of age 0-11 months did not received second dose of measles in the last two years respectively. Out of these 4231 cases which were reported last year, 1370 have received their first dose of measles vaccine. Conclusion: Seroconversion and seroprevalence study of the vaccine and field strain of measles virus is needed to confirm whether its failure is due to service unavailability or vaccine in-affectivity. Keywords: Measles, EPI, Outbreaks, Immunization, vaccines, Pakistan
Introduction Immunization is a sole component of preventive medicine and is an important need of the day. Immunization reduces the cost of treating diseases and thus helps in poverty reduction and social and economic development of the country [1]. Globally EPI was initiated by the WHO In 1974 [2] and in Pakistan it was started in 1978 with the definitive objective of eliminating six common diseases (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis, Pertussis, Polio, and Measles) in the country which are vaccine preventable [3]. For many years childhood immunization program coverage remains low in Africa and Asia due to several reasons. These countries carry an inconsistent burden of global measles deaths. Approximately 610,000 infants * Correspondence: [email protected] Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
and young children died in 2002 in these continents. In 1997 a new resolution was adopted by Eastern Mediterranean Region of the WHO to eliminate measles by 2010 [4]. The plan of National Immunization Days has remarkable impact on immunization coverage [5]. Annually 5.9 million 0-11 month old children are immunized by EPI Pakistan to protect them against 8 vaccine preventable diseases including measles. Unfortunately the basic immunization providing centers are not uniform in the country. About 6,000 fixed centers providing immunization services are present throughout the country. Each
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