Hanoi (VNA) - The national immunisation programme will give supplementalvaccinations against Japanese encephalitis to children between six and 15 yearsold, who did not receive the vaccine, or are not sure about their vaccinationschedule previously, in districts facing high risks of the disease.

The planwill be carried out in 2017-18.

Theinformation was released by associate professor Tran Nhu Duong, deputy directorof the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

Duong saidthat Vietnam saw about 1,000 cases of encephalitis per year, and 10 percent ofthem were Japanese encephalitis.

Nearly 60 percentof the cases were in northern provinces.

Mostpatients are between one and 10 years old and were unsure if they had receivedthe vaccination or not.

Under theplan, children between six and 15 years old will receive three doses of thevaccine.

The planwill cover several districts in Son La, Dien Bien, Lang Son and Bac Kannorthern provinces, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai centralprovinces.

Thedistricts had at least one problem related to the disease, including the rateof vaccination against Japanese encephalitis being under 80 percent, the rateof Japanese encephalitis equal to or more than 1/100,000 residents, andfatalities caused by Japanese encephalitis in two consecutive years.

The nationalprogramme will provide vaccinations for about 3.4 million children, who arefrom one to two years old, per year nationwide.

Experts fromthe Preventive Medicines Department under the Ministry of Health said thatJapanese encephalitis could occur year-round, and the epidemic often occurs insummer months, because mosquitoes can develop during those months.

Anyone whois not vaccinated can suffer from the disease.

Expertswarned that to prevent the disease, people should ensure environmental hygiene,clean accommodation, use mosquito nets while sleeping and not let children gonear animals.

Vaccinationis the most effective preventive measure.

But only onedose of the vaccine is not strong enough, so children should receive threebasic doses. The first dose is when they are one year old, the second one ortwo weeks later, and the third one year later. Children should also receivebooster injections every four years until they are 15 years old.-VNA