Myanmar has successfully eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), elimination is defined as fewer than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births in each township. As immunity against tetanus is transmitted to the newborn through the mother, this also proves a major reduction in the incidence of maternal tetanus, Juanita Vasquez, officer-in-charge for UNICEF in Myanmar, told IRIN from Yangon on 1 June.
Elimination status was confirmed by an international team of experts from UNICEF and WHO in May, following a concerted effort by the Burmese government and its international partners to reach all pregnant women with tetanus vaccines, as well as the provision of safe and clean deliveries. Myanmar is the second country in East Asia after Vietnam to achieve elimination status.
MNT is preventable through appropriate immunization of women of child-bearing age, and through simple and basic precautionary measures in child delivery, WHO says. MNT remains a major public health concern in 41 countries and continues to account for a considerable proportion of maternal and neonatal deaths, UNICEF said.
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), elimination is defined as fewer than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births in each township. As immunity against tetanus is transmitted to the newborn through the mother, this also proves a major reduction in the incidence of maternal tetanus, Juanita Vasquez, officer-in-charge for UNICEF in Myanmar, told IRIN from Yangon on 1 June.
Elimination status was confirmed by an international team of experts from UNICEF and WHO in May, following a concerted effort by the Burmese government and its international partners to reach all pregnant women with tetanus vaccines, as well as the provision of safe and clean deliveries. Myanmar is the second country in East Asia after Vietnam to achieve elimination status.
MNT is preventable through appropriate immunization of women of child-bearing age, and through simple and basic precautionary measures in child delivery, WHO says. MNT remains a major public health concern in 41 countries and continues to account for a considerable proportion of maternal and neonatal deaths, UNICEF said.
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