PGIMS Rohtak to vaccinate 3,000 healthcare workers against hepatitis-B

Rohtak, July 9

The Department of Medical Gastroenterology at Pandit BD Sharma PGIMS, which is also a Model Treatment Centre (MTC) of Haryana under the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme, has set a target to vaccinate 3,000 healthcare workers (HCWs) under the first phase to protect them from hepatitis-B.

The vaccination is mandatory for HCWs, including doctors, nurses, laboratory and operating theatre technicians, said Dr Parveen Malhotra, Senior Professor and Head, Department of Medical Gastroenterology, PGIMS, and incharge of the MTC.

“HCWs remain at high risk of contracting hepatitis-B infection while carrying out deliveries, administering injections and other procedures involving blood. The vaccination is imperative to save them from this fatal disease and to curtail the expenditure of hepatitis-B immunoglobulin (HBIG) that costs around Rs 15,000 for one time for an unvaccinated person,” Dr Malhotra stated.

Initially, 9,000 doses of the vaccine had been sought from the health authorities. The MTC enrolled 20 new patients of hepatitis-B and C every day, and around 80 old patients come for follow-up, which made it one of the high-flow centres

in India.

“A series of lectures have been launched along with Dr BM Vashisth (Department of Community Medicine) and Dr Vani Malhotra (Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) to spread awareness among the HCWs,” he added.

Dr Vani Malhotra was recently presented with Amarinder Nath Dan prize in the mother and child healthcare category in Kolkata for a research over the prevention of vertical transmission of hepatitis-B virus in pregnant patients.