Over 59,000 People in Flood-Affected Rasuwa and Nuwakot Receive Cholera Vaccine

Kathmandu: The campaign to administer the Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) to control cholera in flood-affected areas has been intensified.

A recent report titled “Routine Immunization Services and Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Flood-Affected Areas,” released by the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services, states that 59,732 people in the flood-affected areas of Rasuwa and Nuwakot have received the vaccine.

According to the report, 15,812 people in Rasuwa and 43,920 in Nuwakot have received the oral cholera vaccine. The vaccination campaign is currently underway in the Gosainkunda, Uttargaya, Aamachhodingmo, and Kalika rural municipalities of Rasuwa, as well as in the Bidur and Belkotgadhi municipalities and the Kispang and Tarkeshwar rural municipalities of Nuwakot.

Meanwhile, the Tetanus-Diphtheria (Td) vaccine is also being administered to health workers, rescue personnel, and injured individuals in the flood-affected areas. The report indicates that 821 people across four local levels in Rasuwa have received the Td vaccine, while 113 people in Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot, have received the vaccine.

According to the report, there were eight suspected cases of measles following the floods. Tests for seven samples returned negative results, while the result for one sample is still pending. The samples include six from Rasuwa and two from Nuwakot.

Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, Chief of the Child Health and Immunization Section under the Family Welfare Division, stated that routine immunization services, disease surveillance, and cholera control campaigns are being advanced simultaneously in flood-affected areas.

According to him, preparations for the “MR” (measles-rubella) vaccination campaign have begun in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, while preparations for the “OCV” (oral cholera vaccine) campaign are underway in the remaining affected wards of Dhading, Gorkha, and Tanahun.