Children in Saptari district have been deprived of Diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) vaccine as the Child Health Division of the Department of Health services did not supply the DPT vaccine for the last one month.

DPT vaccine is being administered to the children to prevent diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. It is a three-in- one vaccine that contains vaccines against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. All of the health facilities in the district are reeling under the shortage of the DPT vaccine.

Senior Auxiliary Health Worker of Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality Shailesh Kumar Mishra said the District Public Health Office (DPHO) has not sent the vaccine for the last one month. “We are unable to provide the vaccine to

the children in Tilathi these days,” said Mishra. “I have been taking my child to the Primary Health Centre for vaccination for the past one month, but, the health workers said that the stock of the DPT vaccine has already finished,” said Prakash Yadav, a local man of Tilathi Koiladi-8.

Children should get 5 doses of the DPT vaccine before age 7. One of the officials at the DPHO said Child Health Division supplies limited stock of DPT vaccineAccording to the DDA, 60,000 children need DPT vaccine across the country on a monthly basis . “We need at least 200,000 doses every month,” said a DDA official, adding that there’s only 26,000 vials of DPT stock remained in the store last month. (PR)