Early administration of BCG, Oral Polio Vaccines for Low Birth Weight babies reduces death risks

Chennai, Sept. 26 -- Early administration of BCG and Oral Polio vaccines for Low Birth Weightbabies--weighing less than 2,000 gms--reduces the risk of deaths, according to a study by IndianResearchers which was published in British Medical Journal.

JIPMER, Pondicherry, in collaboration with ICH and IOG, Chennai, provided breakthrough evidencethrough its study, recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The study tested whether giving the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine (Danish strain) alongwith Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) within the first 48 hours of life could save newborn lives--particularlythose weighing less than 2000 grams.

India continues to face a high neonatal mortality rate, with 24.9 deaths per 1,000 live birt...