HEALTH INITIATIVE:Campaign to educate parents on rotavirus infection and
the importance of protecting their infants
THE Fight Against Rotavirus
campaign by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd (GSK) and MumCentre was
launched recently to heighten awareness on rotavirus gastroenteritis, a form of
acute infant diarrhoea.
As a key component of the campaign, 13 healthcare institutions were
announced as collaboration partners in this health initiative to emphasise the
importance of prevention.
They include Columbia Asia
Hospitals in Cheras and Puchong,
Tropicana Medical Centre (Kota Damansara) and Arunamari Specialist
Medical Centre (Klang) in Selangor;
Columbia Asia Hospital (Setapak) and Universiti Malaya Specialist Centre
in Kuala Lumpur; Columbia Asia Hospital (Taiping) and KPJ Ipoh Specialist Hospital in Perak; Damai
Medical Centre, the Kota Kinabalu
Specialist Hospital, Rafflesia Medical
Centre and the Sabah Medical Centre, all in Kota Kinabalu, and the Tawau
Maternity and Specialist Hospital in Sabah.
At the same time, the
collaborations will urge parents to take the necessary precautions against
rotavirus infection.
Rotavirus is the most common
cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide.
In developing countries,
rotavirus gastroenteritis is a major cause of childhood death and is
responsible for approximately half a million deaths per year among children
below the age of five .
"Maintaining a high level of
hygiene alone may not be sufficient to prevent rotavirus infection. However,
rotavirus vaccines have been found to be highly effective and safe in the
prevention of rotavirus infection in young children," said Prof Dr Lee Way
Seah, Professor of Paediatrics with the Faculty of Medicine and Senior Consultant
Paediatric Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, University of Malaya Medical
Centre.
"We urge all Malaysian
parents to consider vaccinating their infants, aged less than six months, with
rotavirus vaccines to protect them from rotavirus infection," said Dr Lee.
In fostering awareness of
rotavirus gastroenteritis, multiple initiatives have been identified to educate
parents throughout the campaign.
Rota Week will be another
platform to provide rotavirus education. Participating healthcare institutions
will set up booths to inform parents on the availability of the antenatal
classes upon their visit to the booth.
Additionally, nurse advocates
will be engaged at the participating healthcare institutions.
A digital game called Baby Poosh
is available online at http://apps.facebook.com/babypoosh/.
The game incorporates rotavirus
prevention elements where players are required to prevent their
"baby" from acquiring the virus.
Baby Poosh is a disease awareness
initiative by Persatuan Tadika Malaysia (PTM) and supported by GSK.
"We want to take advantage
of the opportunity and resources we have to do as much as we can to benefit the
community," said GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd business
unit director (vaccines) Henri Antaki.
"We hope parents are educated on paediatric diseases
such as rotavirus gastroenteritis through the Fight Against Rotavirus
campaign," he added.
Meanwhile, MumCentre chief
executive officer Brian Denenbergsaid: "MumCentre has been committed to
provide parents with information and tools necessary in their children's
upbringing. Having established ourselves in the online space, we are glad to
collaborate with these organisations in
reaching out to parents via on-ground activities."
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