IAP Position Paper on Burden of Mumps in India and Vaccination Strategies.

Justification: Mumps, despite being a widely prevalent disease in the country, is considered as an insignificant public health problem mainly because of poor documentation of clinical cases and lack of published studies. In the absence of adequate published data on disease burden, Government of India has recently decided to introduce measles-rubella (MR) vaccine in its National Immunization Program and neglected mumps component.

Process: Following an IAP ACVIP meeting on December 6 and 7, 2014, a detailed review of burden of mumps in India along with vaccination strategies to control the disease was prepared.

Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) recommended immunization schedule for children aged 0 through 18 years--India, 2014 and updates on immunization.

Justification: There is a need to review/revise recommendations about existing vaccines in light of recent developments in the field of vaccinology.

Process: Following an IAP ACVIP meeting on April 19 and 20, 2014, a draft of revised recommendations for the year 2014 and updates on certain vaccine formulations was prepared and circulated among the meeting participants to arrive at a consensus.

Objectives: To review and revise recommendations for 2014 Immunization timetable for pediatricians in office practice and issue statements on certain new and existing vaccine formulations.

IAP perspectives on measles and rubella elimination strategies.

The Academy's Expert group on Immunization has discussed various issues pertaining to rubella vaccine introduction in to the Universal Immunization Program. Though the move to introduce rubella vaccine in to the UIP is laudable, the decision to overlook mumps seems inexplicable and illogical. Logistics also support the use of measles-mump and rubella (MMR) vaccine instead of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.