Bangladesh: Protecting the most vulnerable – Pentavalent & Td vaccination campaign in Cox’s Bazar

In the midst of a diphtheria outbreak in the FDMN¹ population in Bangladesh, the government, with the support of the World Health Organization and other health sector partners, led a vaccination campaign from 5 to 24 November 2022. This immunization campaign targeted children between the ages of 6 weeks and 15 years old.

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that usually affects the nose and throat mucous membranes. It can be treated with medications. But in advanced stages, diphtheria can damage the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly, especially in children.

Thanks to comprehensive micro-planning and allocation of the required resources, over 90% of the targeted children (almost 420,000) received life-saving vaccines. Of those vaccinated, 96% of children between the ages of 6 weeks and 7 years old received the Pentavalent vaccine, which, besides diphtheria, also protects against tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b, while 89% of children between the ages of 7 years and 15 years old received the tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine.

Bangladesh: Protecting the most vulnerable – Pentavalent & Td vaccination campaign in Cox’s Bazar

Vaccination campaign in the camp. Photo credit: WHO

To ensure high coverage, several specific strategies were used. This included deploying seven additional vaccination teams during the campaign to get to children in hard-to-reach areas in six different camps. These teams administered 3,576 doses, including 2,321 doses of Penta and 1,255 doses of Td. Information sessions about the benefits of the vaccination were conducted with religious leaders as well as camp in charge (CiC) orientations, were held to make the campaign successful. 71 health facility managers, 142 vaccinators, and 120 community health worker supervisors received training on vaccination techniques and strategies to enhance capacities.

The campaign’s success is significant given the high transmission of diphtheria in 2022, with 299 cases reported in early October. The outbreak has been ongoing since 2018, with 5,344 reported cases, and since then fluctuating with 617 cases in 2019, 226 cases in 2020, and 182 cases in 2021.

The WHO Representative to Bangladesh, Dr Bardan Jung Rana, highlighted: “The high coverage achieved in the vaccination campaign is a testament to the dedication and hard-work of the healthcare workers involved. It is expected that this campaign will help to control the outbreak of diphtheria in the FDMN population as well as the national community and protect children from this potentially life-threatening disease”.

Bangladesh: Protecting the most vulnerable – Pentavalent & Td vaccination campaign in Cox’s Bazar

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^[1] Forcibly displaced Myanmar Nationals