By IANS
New Delhi : India will purchase from china 21.3 million anti-Japanese Encephalitis (JE) doses worth Rs.200 million in 2007-08.
A five-member delegation of China National Biotec Group (CNBG) led by its president Wang Lifeng, met the Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss here Tuesday.
CNGB has been supplying anti-JE vaccines to India since February 2006. The vaccine SA14-14-2 is a product of CNBG Chengdu Institute, a state-run body in China.
"In 2007, the vaccination campaign for JE will be expanded to 22 districts in India and CNBG Chengdu Institute will supply more than 20 million doses of JE vaccine to India," a health ministry official said.
Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease that can affect the central nervous system and cause severe complications and finally lead to death.
Officials said around 10 million Indian children aged one to 15 years were vaccinated with JE vaccine to protect them from Japanese Encephalitis.
In 2006-07 India had purchased 13.5 million Anti-JE doses for Rs.130 million.
In 2005, over 5,700 suspect JE cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, of which 1,334 people succumbed to the disease.