Over 60,000 children to be vaccinated in Myanmar's Yangon

YANGON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 60,000 children under the age of 15 in Myanmar's Yangon will be vaccinated this year against some three diseases, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

The vaccination program will be conducted by the Yangon Region Public Health Department against diphtheria, measles and German measles to the 60,000 children from every township of the Yangon region.

The children, identified from orphanages and philanthropies including novices and nuns studying in schools, will receive four types of vaccination including pentavalent vaccine.

The pentavalent vaccine is a combined vaccination that provides protection to a child from five life-threatening diseases -- diphtheria, pertussis, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type-B.

The public health department has warned children studying at schools, orphanages and migrant communities of being at risk of becoming infected with the disease as they have not yet received full vaccination.