Killer Measles Vaccine Is Withdrawn And Other Vaccine Death Cases

A mother recounts the horror she faced at the immunization centre.

''She died at the centre itself soon after the vaccine. Froth started coming out of her nose instantly,'' said Suganthy.

The measles vaccination programme may be suspended across the country. Tamil Nadu has already taken this drastic step after the death of four babies in Thiruvallur on Wednesday.

Ninety lakh measles vaccines procured from Indian Immunological Ltd in Hyderabad have been withdrawn by the Health Ministry.

''The batch is being recalled,'' said Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Health Minister.

Health Ministry has said that vaccines were a trial order from the private, Hyderabad-based company and States that have been supplied by the company were warned.

The Union Health Ministry has rushed two experts and the vaccine has been sent for testing. The official report will take two days but it seems there was some toxin in it.

There are also reports that the medical camps did not have any provisions for emergencies.

The Centre had no choice, 45 lakh doses have already been sent to various states. Of that 20 lakh doses went to Tamil Nadu alone.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu put on hold measles immunisation programme and suspended two nurses after four babies died soon after getting vaccinated for measles.

Sources told NDTV that doctors have concluded that the four children died because of the vaccines.

''Anbumani Ramadoss has told me that the government of India is stopping the measles vaccine programme across the country. Tamil Nadu has already suspended the immunization programme throughout the state,'' said M R K Paneerselvam, Health Minister, Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu a mother, Arputhamaal, who was blessed with a girl baby twenty years after her marriage, lost her child to the killer vaccine. The ten-month-old died on Wednesday soon after she was administered measles vaccine, in the Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.

Three other babies too lost their lives after vaccination at their neighbourhood government health centre.

Arputhamaal was inconsolable and visibly shaken after she lost her child.

''I had not taken my daughter to the hospital even once after the birth. And the first time she was taken she died, said Arputhamaal, a mother.

Another mother recounts the horror she faced at the immunization centre.

''She died at the centre itself soon after the vaccine. Froth started coming out of her nose instantly,'' said Suganthy.

The state government has ordered a probe. According to the health officials, the vaccine was supplied by the Central government-owned Human Biological Institute in Hyderabad.

There's a pal of gloom along with simmering tension in the area.

While the government has announced a compensation of Rs three lakh to families, there is no consolation for those who have lost their innocent children.

Ironically, Tamil Nadu is in the forefront of the vaccination movement in the country. The state has successfully eradicated polio and several other diseases.

In January 2008, Tamil Nadu became the first state chosen for implementing the Hepatitis-B vaccination programme.

Source: NDTV.com, news report, 24th April 2008.

4 Dead After Measles Vaccination, Another 6 Critically Ill

Measles vaccine proves fatal for 4 infants in Maharashtra
Saturday, 27 September 2008. Sky News.


Aurangabad (Maharashtra): Four infants died and six others were gasping for life in a government hospital here on Saturday, a day after they were administered a measles vaccine at a primary health centre.

The four children dead, Kalyani Baburao Gaikwad, Krishna Somnath Gaikwad, Shubham Nagesh Gaikwad and Pramod Raghunath Gaikwad, all less than a year old, were rushed to the government hospital as they took ill following inoculation of the vaccine at the Jategaon primary health centre in Waghola village near here.

Even as frantic efforts were on to save the lives of the six seriously ill children who too were given the vaccine from the same batch, the health department set up a three-man committee of paediatricians – A P Kulkarni, L S Deshpande and A K Bindu to probe the tragic incident, hospital sources said.

While neither hospital dean Nandkumar Dravid nor any health department officer was available to give details like the number of children in the district given the vaccination and the status of their health, unconfirmed reports said all 40,000 vaccines supplied in the district are being withdrawn.

Here's another clip from the same incident: Panic As Vaccine Kills 4

Four children have died in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district after being given a measles vaccination.

The incident, which occurred in Waghola villlage, not only exposed flaws in the state's rural health system, but also raised serious concerns among parents. Many of them now say they would rather not vaccinate their children.(Watch)

Sharifa's 10-month-old baby girl is due for a measles shot. But she is not sure she wants to give her any vaccine. "I know it's important to give the vaccine, but what if something goes wrong and I lose her? Who will be responsible?" she asks.

10 Month Old Girl Dies After Measles Vaccine

A TEN- month old girl child died today after being administered a vaccine shot near Pachan Gounden Valasu in Paramathy Taluk of Namakkal district.

Rashidha, daughter of Raja (32) was given a dose of measles vaccine at the Jaderpalayam Primary Health Centre (PHC) on Tuesday. After returning home, the child developed high fever and was immediately taken to the same PHC where she was treated by a staff of the hospital. Dr Kumar who worked in a PHC in a nearby village then treated the child.

But Rashidha’s condition worsened. Her stomach became bloated and she suffered loose motion.

This morning, as the child became weak and fainted, the parents rushed her to the Tiruchengode GH where the doctors declared the baby “brought dead.” Getting suspicious of his daughter’s death, Raja informed the local police.

Source: Express Buzz, 10 October 2008.

Measles Vaccine Kills 4 Kids - This Is A DIFFERENT Case Than The One Above!

Four children, aged between nine months and one-and-a-half years, died just hours after being given measles vaccine at a health sub-centre in the Nimua area of Baksa district this morning.

The children, identified as Bikash Dorjee of Kursijhar, Pramod Barman of Baganbari, Pamit Barman of Narsingbari and Bhagyasri Swargiary of Dikiajan, had high fever and bouts of vomiting before breathing their last at their homes except for one, who died in hospital.

Health department officials said the real cause of death would be known by tomorrow afternoon after the post mortem. The vaccines will be sent for tests.

The vaccine is given every Wednesday under the National Rural Health Mission. Nearly 15 children took the vaccine at the Nimua health sub-centre today.

A Bangalore-based institute manufactured the vaccine with an expiry date of December 2009.

The government tonight ordered a probe into the deaths, besides announcing Rs 1 lakh each for the family of the deceased.

Additional chief secretary P.P. Verma, who will conduct the probe, has been asked to submit the report soon.

A five-member team from the Union health ministry is scheduled to visit Nimua health sub-centre tomorrow to take stock of the situation.

Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta, India. 22 October 2008.

4 Infants Die After Measles Vaccination - more from the above case - Death toll set to rise as more vaccinated children sicken

In a shocking incident, four children aged below one year died allegedly after they were administered vaccination against measles in Baksa districts today morning. The deceased infants, all between age group of nine and eleven months, have been identified as Prabin Barman, son of Bidya Barman, December Bagla, son of Rakesh Bagla, Bhagyashree Swargiyary, daughter of Dhanjit Swargiyary and Bikash Dorjee son of Jang Bahadur Dorjee.

These babies were reportedly vaccinated against measles in different health centres under Nimua PHC in Baksa district. The expectations of the parents to keep their children protected from the disease shattered within hours as their wards died without getting any treatment.

As the report of the deaths spread in the rural areas, mothers whose children were administered the vaccine today, went panicky and created an unprecedented rush to the nearby dispensaries and to the Barpeta Road 30-bed hospital. Sources said that the casualties may rise as several more children have fallen sick after the vaccination programme.

Source: The Assam Tribune, 22 October 2008.

DPT And Polio Boosters Kill 18 Month Old Girl

"It is surprising to note that there have been several deaths following immunisation, and the administration has not been able to find a solution to this,'' a senior doctor said.

Following the death of an 18-month-old girl after being given a dose of vaccine at a health post in Andheri (E) on Tuesday evening, the mu
nicipal corporation has frozen certain batches of vaccine and sent samples for testing.

Sources said the girl, Ishadevi Sharma, was being taken by her parents to the local health post at MIDC for regular vaccine doses since her birth. On October 20, she was given the DPT booster as well as the polio dose and brought back home.

In the evening, Ishadevi developed high fever and, as instructed by the doctor, her mother applied warm water on the place where the child was given the injection. She also gave medicines to the child. As the child's condition worsened, she was taken to a nearby hospital the following day. When she started frothing at the mouth and continued running a temperature, she was referred to Cooper Hospital in Juhu, where she was declared dead.

According to Dr Mangala Gomare, in charge of BMC's immunisation programme, Ishadevi was among 29 children who were given vaccine doses at the MIDC health post. As an immediate measure, the administration has frozen this particular batch of vaccine.

The official said that samples of this vaccine have been sent to the laboratory at Kasauli to check for contamination. "The body was taken for a postmortem examination and the cause of death is still awaited,'' Dr Gomare added. Sources said that viscera samples had also been sent for a chemical analysis to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory. Also, the body samples have been sent for a histopathology report to find out if the child had contracted a disease recently.

"It is surprising to note that there have been several deaths following immunisation, and the administration has not been able to find a solution to this,'' a senior doctor said.

Source: The Times of India, 23 October 2008.

HIB Vaccine Kills 4 Month Baby In China

A four-month-old baby died after receiving a pneumonia and meningitis vaccine in east China's Shandong Province, an official with the local health bureau said on Sunday.

The baby was vaccinated against Haemophilus influenza type B, or Hib, on October 19 at the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Liaocheng City.

"His mouth turned blue and his face turned pale several minutes after we left the hospital," said the baby's father, Yu Jingkuan. "He also had diarrhea. Then that afternoon, the baby looked normal."

However, Yu said his child suffered the same symptoms the next day.

"Doctors suggested the infant be transferred to another hospital for treatment, but my child died on the way." he said.

The vaccine was produced by Wosen Biotechnology Co. Ltd. in Yuxi City of the southwestern Yunnan Province. The company has sent staff to Liaocheng to investigate the death.

In the meantime, Liaocheng's health bureau ordered all hospitals in the city to suspend use of the vaccines.

Source: China Daily, 26 October 2008.

Parents Given Pay Off After Their 1 Year Old Dies From MMR

The parents of 1-year old Madyson Williams will receive $250,000 from the government for the death of their daughter.

Garry and Rachel Williams claimed the Mumps, Measles, Rubella Vaccine or MMR killed their daughter.

Madyson got the vaccine at the Pediatric Center in Springfield on May 12, 2006. Her parents submitted medical evidence that the MMR vaccine is the reason Madyson died 6 days later.

Attorneys for the Department of Health and Human Services Friday settled with the family for liability.

Calls to the government office were not returned as of news time.

Source: KSPR ABC News.

VAN UK'S Comment: That pay off is insulting for a child's death.

MMR Toddler Dies After Jab

A tot of 18 months died 10 days after having the MMR jab, an inquest heard yesterday.

Mum Sarah Fisher, 42, said she told doctors George had had febrile convulsions. She was not warned of any complications with the vaccine.

After the MMR, he had diarrhoea, a runny nose and no appetite. She found George, of Cheltenham, Glos, dead. Mrs Fisher said: "We cannot understand how our healthy son died."

Source: The Mirror 3rd December 2008.

China Suspends Hepatitis A Vaccine After The Death of A Minor

Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech Ltd (SVA.A: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said a Health Services Bureau in Beijing suspended the use of 83 doses of its hepatitis A vaccine, Healive, after the death of a minor.

The death of the minor on Nov. 27 "coincided with the administration of the vaccine two days prior," the company said in a statement. The suspended vaccine was part of a lot that passed the routine government inspection in July 2008, the company said.

Source: Reuters 2nd December 2008.

Here's another account of the same incident showing that authorities are more concerned about profits than they are about the toddler's death

SALES OF SINOVAC'S HEPATITIS VACCINE SUSPENDED AFTER BABY DIES

According to a report in Interfax-China, sales of Sinovac Biotech’s (SVA) hepatitis A vaccine Healive have been suspended in Beijing's Fengtai district, following the death of a two-year-old infant.

Details remain sketchy. Sinovac has not released its official reaction to the action, which has not received wide coverage in the U.S., where Sinovac is traded. Healive is by far the most important revenue-producing product for Sinovac. It was responsible for 78% of Sinovac’s Q3 sales.

Sinovac’s shares dropped 12 cents to $1.03 in moderately heavy trading early Monday.

Source: Seeking Alpha 1st December 2008.

ANOTHER KID DIES AFTER BCG VACCINE

A two-month-old died this week after taking the BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerin) vaccine, given to prevent childhood tuberculosis, TOI has learnt.

The yet-to-be-named infant, the son of Chembur Naka resident Geeta Mane, was administered the BCG vaccine at a health post in Abhudaya Nagar on Tuesday. “BCG is usually given at birth, but health workers who had gone for a polio immunisation round realised that the child hadn’t taken his BCG and he was subsequently given the shot at the health post,’’ said a source, adding that the child died the next day.

Public doctors said it was the first time the infant was being immunised, and that the entire batch of BCG vaccines as well as the diluent in which it is mixed had been seized.

This case, and the death of two children after they were administered the Hepatitis B and DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccines, come close on the heels of a spate of similar incidents in Chennai in which infants died after taking the measles vaccine.

Health officials however, still seemed unsure about the details of Geeta Mane’s infant and were hesitant to link it to the vaccine, though the stocks have been sealed.

“He was a malnourished child. He had also travelled out of town and we can’t attribute the death exclusively to vaccination,’’ said executive health officer Dr Jairaj Thanekar, who also insisted that the child had been administered the Hepatitis B and DPT vaccines, like the other two kids.

TOI had in its Friday edition reported about the two deaths following vaccination. The first child, two-month-old Sunilkumar Sharma, had taken a dose of the DPT, Hepatitis B and polio vaccines at the Shatabdi sub-centre in Mankhurd on Tuesday and died a day later at Sion hospital. Then 48-day-old Tahira Ansari died on Friday after she was administered the DPT (triple dose) and Hepatitis B vaccines at the Oshiwara maternity home.

Health officials said they stopped the use of vaccines from the batch concerned across Maharashtra and there was no reason to panic. Samples had been sent to the Central Drug Laboratory in Kasauli to test for contamination.

“Three deaths were reported and the children had received multiple vaccines. These are rare events and it is unfortunate that this time they have occurred in such a close span,’ said the director-general of health services, Dr Prakash Doke.

Source: Times of India, 11th May 2008.

Southern Vietnam suspends TB vaccine after infant death

Health centers in southern Vietnam were instructed Friday to stop using
BCG, a locally made tuberculosis vaccine, following an infant's death in
Dong Nai province Wednesday.

The province's Thong Nhat General Hospital said the three-day-old infant
died a few hours after being given a BCG shot made by the Ho Chi Minh
City-based Pasteur Institute.

The management board of the southern Expanded Program on Immunization also
instructed local health centers to report by July 6 the number of vaccines
still in stock.

Health authorities are conducting tests on the vaccine.

Initial investigations reveal that the hospital stringently followed all
the rules in place for preserving the vaccines and sterilizing needles.

It vaccinated 11 other babies from the same batch but they are fine.

Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha of the Pasteur Institute said the BCG vaccine had
caused no fatalities or serious complications in the last few decades.

This year, in Vietnam, six babies have died and six others developed
serious complications after getting shots of vaccines against rabies,
hepatitis B, and other diseases made both in Vietnam and abroad.

Source: Tuoi Tre, Nguoi Lao Dong - Compiled by Tuong Nhi.

BOY IN INTENSIVE CARE AFTER BCG JAB

A 13-year-old boy is in intensive care after a severe allergic reaction to a vaccination at an Aberystwyth school.

On Tuesday, 10 other pupils from Penweddig Comprehensive were also taken to Bronglais Hospital after "adverse effects" to the injections.

Nearly 120 students at the school were being injected with the BCG vaccine, which combats tuberculosis.

A Ceredigion NHS Trust spokesman said it was investigating, and had stopped the batch of vaccine being used.

The trust has named the boy in intensive care as Dominic Hamer. He was said to have had an anaphylactic shock, which is defined as a very sudden serious physical reaction caused by an allergy.

His condition has been described as stable. Three other pupils were all kept in overnight for observation, but the rest were discharged.

The trust has said it is working closely with the school to ensure that pupils and parents receive any information or support they require.

Individual advisory letters have also been issued to pupils.

Brian Thomas, head of corporate services at the trust confirmed the batch of vaccine had been withdrawn.

Intensive care

A statement from the trust said the batch of vaccines used at the school had also been used on Monday without any adverse effects.

A team of four doctors and three nurses had been conducting the vaccinations at Penweddig Comprehensive.

The statement said: "At 12.30pm, nine children presented at the accident and emergency department of Bronglais General Hospital following a suspected adverse reaction to a BCG immunisation.

"Another two pupils attended the department in mid afternoon."

"Following assessment, 10 of the pupils were admitted for observations and one pupil admitted to the intensive care unit."

Source: BBC News, 16th November 2004.

Two Children Die After Vaccination

Two children, including an infant, died after being administered vaccines in a Bihar village, health officials and parents said on Tuesday.

A 20-day-old boy died on Monday, a day after he was administered DPT and BCG vaccines in Kamrauli village of Darbhanga district, about 200 km from Patna.

"My child died a day after he was administered vaccines by health volunteers," the boy's unconsolable mother Neetu Devi said. She said that she took the newborn for vaccination after being persuaded by an immunisation campaign, but it cost his life.

A two-year-old boy in the same village also died after he was administered the vaccines.

His mother Lalita Devi said: "He was healthy before vaccines. But he developed a high fever and showed sign of weakness before he died."

The parents are demanding action against the health officials.

Villagers alleged that health volunteers used infected syringes for the vaccines.

Reports said several children have fallen ill in the village and neighbouring areas in Darbhanga district after vaccines.

Source: The Hindu, 30th December 2008.

Drug Dealer Seized For East China Vaccine Incident

The drug dealer selling problematic vaccines to sicken 300 school students in east China's Anhui Province was caught by police in the provincial capital city of Hefei early Monday morning.

Private dealer Zhang Peng, who was at large since the accident broke out, allegedly sold 3,000 doses of hepatitis A vaccines produced by Pukang Biotech Co. in east China's Zhejiang Province to primary and secondary schools in Dazhuang town of Sixian county. Around 2,500 students were vaccinated with the iffy products on June 16 and 17.

One student was killed and another 300 were sickened and suffering from nausea and breathing difficulties shortly after the vaccination.

Source: China Daily, 4th July 2005.

VAN UK's Comment: I find it interesting that they referred to the drug rep as a 'dealer' - essentially that is all vaccine companies are, drug dealers.

Death of a British Baby After Polio Vaccine

There is a good article on babyworld about the loss of a baby and the stages of grief, written by a mother whose 10 week old baby died after his polio vaccination:

Was it my fault?

This is often one of the first questions a parent will ask after the death of a child. It is also the one niggling doubt that never leaves you, regardless of how illogical it seems or how many times people assure you that you are not at fault.

Toby died from his polio vaccination. I know it's not my fault. As his mother I believed I was protecting him by having him immunised. Yet even today I blame myself. If I hadn't taken him for his immunisations he would still be alive. If I had questioned the doctor she would not have given him the vaccine and he would still be alive. It is almost as if I need to blame myself because I was his mother and I couldn't protect him.

See http://www.babyworld.co.uk/information/baby/baby_loss/baby_loss1.asp for the full article.

Family Given Compensation 10 Years After Baby Dies From Polio Drops

n a decision aimed at making public authorities more accountable, a city court has directed the Delhi government to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the parents of an infant who died after being administered with Pulse Polio drops in 1999.

The court held that the government was obligated to not only run public health programmes like Pulse Polio, but was also duty bound to protect people from the probable side-effects of the vaccine.

“The constitutional obligation of the Government to improve public health is not confined to introducing programmes and administering medicines but extends to protecting a child under such a programme from all the consequential effects,” said Additional District Judge (ADJ) Kamini Lau.

Five-month-old Nishu started vomiting after she was vaccinated in Najafgarh on November 21, 1999.

By November 23, her condition deteriorated despite being given medicines earlier at the Government Hospital in Zaffarpur. At 1.30 am, her grandfather Rajpal rushed her to the hospital where, according to the petition, the staff was found sleeping, and despite repeated requests, a doctor was not called. Instead, Rajpal was asked to take the child to the DDU Hospital.

Suffering with acute respiratory distress and diarrhoea, Nishu succumbed on way to the DDU Hospital.

“Authorities cannot shun their legal responsibility in case a person falls sick or loses life after being administered with medicines, for not only the improvement of public health but also the protection of life is the primary duty of the government,” ADJ Lau said.

The court also criticised the condition of government hospitals in the Capital and asked the government to improve it.

“In any programme of immunisation involving administration of drops, the possibility of side-effects cannot be ruled out and it is necessary for the government to gear up its machinery to meet such an eventuality,” ADJ Lau said.

Rajpal led the legal fight on behalf of the child’s parents, accusing the government of negligence.

As many as six other children had fallen sick after being given the polio drops during that period, indicating that something was wrong with the vaccination programme.

Challenging the petition, the government had said there was neither any negligence in treating the child nor any fault with the vaccinations in view of the report submitted by a high-powered committee formed to look into the death of the child.

ADJ Lau, however, observed that the facts on record spoke volumes about the circumstances that led to the death of the infant.

Taking strong exception to the manner in which the episode was followed by the government agencies, the judge said: “Was it not necessary for the government to have instituted a high-level probe rather than conducting eyewash investigations on the complaint of Rajpal? This was necessary to reinforce the faith of the public in government programmes meant for their welfare.”

ADJ Lau further questioned the government’s promise to provide adequate health measures to everyone and said: “Why under these circumstances does the government not gear up its machinery to meet emergencies like the one in the present case?”

The court further held that the programme was conducted in a “casual” manner as not even the vials of the polio vaccines were preserved for an in-depth inquiry at later stages.

By Utkarsh Anand, Express India, 5th January 2009.

DPT Poisoning Blamed For Infant's Death

HE CONTROVERSIAL combined vaccine commonly known as DTP (Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis) has been blamed for the sudden death of a six-week-old infant at Windhoek’s Katutura Hospital, after the infant suffered brain damage and died less than 24 hours after his vaccination.

Zameer Moin Mohammad Chania (6 weeks old) died on January 9 after receiving polio 1 + DPTP 1 vaccination at Windhoek’s Robert Mugabe Clinic. A toxicological examination conducted at Rhino Park Hospital suggested toxicity due to contaminated or expired vaccines.
A prominent Windhoek Paediatrician consulted for comment on the possible effects of DTP on infants said that the pertussis component of DTP had not been linked to infant deaths before, but would not rule out other adverse side effects.
“I believe that it was very likely the vaccine that caused the excessive crying. Although rare, it is a known effect of the vaccine. However, afterwards, a number of factors were involved and one cannot single out only one of them as the cause of death,” he said.
The Ministry of Health has launched an investigation into the deaths. “We need to look at the batch numbers of the vaccines and see what really went wrong,” said Ministry of Health and Social Services Gladys Kambo. Kambo said ministry officials were monitoring some babies to observe side effects of the vaccine.
According to his mother Linda Mohammad Chania, Zameer received pink polio drops and an injection in the thigh at 11h00, and began crying uncontrollably for the entire day until 21h00, when he suddenly stopped breathing.
“I cannot understand, my happy baby kicking in the water in the morning dead by night,” said a heartbroken Chania. “Why do we only get this information (about possible toxicity of DTP) after the deaths of our children?”
Zameer was rushed to Katutura Hospital, where a certain Dr La Grange examined him and determined that he was well nourished and not chronically ill. Zameer then became irritable and unresponsive to stimulation, after which he suffered an episode of seizures.
Around 22h00, he stopped breathing, and nurses tried to resuscitate him with several doses of adrenalin, but his pulse remained low and fluctuating.
“The baby’s colour kept on changing and became paler, his pupils were not responding and he became very weak,” said Chania.
“Blood started rushing down his nose, and deep down I knew that it was close to the end.
“I kept telling the doctor that he was a healthy six-week-old baby until this morning, the more she tried to explain to me that his brain is damaged and he is not going to survive.”
Zameer died at 02h00 the following morning, after more than two hours of attempted resuscitation. His autopsy noted an adverse reaction to the DTP vaccine, but his mother found no solace in consulting Windhoek’s finest paediatricians and Government officials.
“How can it be possible that a vaccination supposed to save our children’s lives can kill my child? Other innocent babies are dying, and the medical board and Government do not want to stop. They must stop and I want justice,” said Chania.
The Ministry of Health has reportedly appointed Dr Norbet Forster to lead investigations into the recent deaths of infants, and establish the cause of adverse reactions to DTP vaccinations. Dr Foster is currently consulting with principals in primary healthcare.
Medical authorities have banned DTP in Japan and replaced it with DTaP in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and several other developed countries. The impediment for most developing countries has been the cost of getting the more secure accelular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. The United States government, after decades of protest against the use of the problematic DTP, approved DTaP as a replacement for the DTP combination vaccine. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers in the US and Europe found that DTP was the most likely of any vaccine to cause reactions, seizures, redness of the skin and high pitched crying in infants after vaccination.
In most developed countries, DTP has been replaced with the more effective but higher priced (DTaP) vaccine and parents have been advised to ensure that children receive DTaP rather than DTP, which has been shown to have side effects that are more adverse.
In Windhoek, three other babies are said to have died on January 9 after receiving similar DTP polio vaccinations at Katutura Hospital, with several similar deaths also reported in the North.

Source: Informante, 4 February 2009, written by Tawanda Kanhema.

South African Government Is Investigating Deaths After DPT Vaccine

THE Permanent Secretary for Health and Social Services Kahijoro Kahuure has confirmed that the government is conducting investigations into the deaths of infants after vaccination with the Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTP) vaccine.

At a press conference held to address concerns over the alleged adverse side effects of the vaccine, Kahuure said samples of the vaccine used on baby Zameer Mohammad Chania who died less than 24 hours after receiving DTP on January 9, 2009 been sent for tests at laboratories in South Africa.
“Even though it is not proven that the deaths were in any way caused by vaccination, we extend our condolences to the families who lost their babies,” said Kahuure.
Zameer’s parents, who attended the press conference were outraged by Kahuure’s attempts in his statement to attribute the baby’s death to medication he received at home to ease the pain after he had cried for more than 7 hours.
“They are trying to shift the blame and say I gave medicines that could cause symptoms, how could they say that?” said Linda Mohammed Chania, Zameer’s mother.
DTP has been at the receiving end of harsh criticism and many developed countries have abandoned it in favour of DTaP which has lesser side effects.
Research conducted into the side effects of the controversial Diptheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTP) vaccine, which has been blamed for the recent deaths of infants in Namibia, shows that the drug has the potential to induce cardio-respiratory complications, brain damage and even death in premature infants.
British Dr HH. Buttram concluded in his research that DTP should not be given to babies in the first 47 days after predicted birth date, meaning that giving DTP at 6 weeks still carries the risk of causing breathing to stop, especially in premature babies.
Information collected on the side effects of DTP by the Parents of Vaccine Damaged Children, a British organisation, confirmed Buttram’s findings, and further showed that the most adverse reactions were within 24 hours of vaccination.
“In 65% of the cases referred to us, reactions followed the triple vaccine (diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus). The children in this group total 182 to date, all are severely brain damaged, some are also paralysed and 5 have died,” wrote Rosemary Fox, Secretary of PVDC in the British Medical Journal.
“Approximately 60% of reactions occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, 80% within 3 days, and all within 12 days,” she added.

Source: Written by By Tawanda Kanhema from Informante, 11 February 2009.

3 Year Old Dies After Vaccination

uthorities said emergency units responded to a home on Wright Street in Madison Friday morning, where they found 3-year-old Amaya M. Walker unresponsive.

Authorities said the girl was taken to St. Mary's Hospital where she was pronounced dead just before noon on Saturday.

According to Coroner John Stanley, autopsy results ruled out any physical injuries relating to the girl's death. More tests will be needed to determine the cause of death.

Joe Reyes lives next door to the girl's great grandmother, where emergency crews responded Friday. Reyes told 27 News Amaya had appeared healthy in recent days.

"She was happy, jumping around like any normal kid. She was a really nice girl, wonderful girl."

Reyes said Amaya had some sort of reaction to receiving required immunizations recently. But Reyes said he believed the child's adverse reaction was only temporary.

Officials with the Madison school district's Head Start program told 27 News Amaya Walker was enrolled in the program just days before her death. The program for three and four year olds requires proof of immunizations and a physical examination within thirty days of enrollment.

Source: 27 News, 9 February 2009.

2 Day Old Baby Dies After Hep B Vaccination

Following the death of a child in Ha Tinh after getting a hepatitis B shot on March 2, the central province has banned the vaccine until investigators can determine the cause of death.

Six hours after receiving the vaccine, the baby, just two days old, died. Its parents belong to Thach Ha District.

Before the start of the investigation, Dr. Nguyen Van Binh, deputy head of the Department of Health Preventative and Environment suggested that anaphylactic shock could be the cause of death.

He said the vaccine was given to two babies but the other child is stable.

Source: www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn, by N.Quoc, D.Quang - Translated by Anh Dao, 5th March 2009.

The article had an accompanying photo of a child being vaccinated, with a caption stating that anaphalaxis after vaccination was a 'frequent occurance.'

Girl Killed After Rubella Vaccine, 27 Others In Hospital

A girl student died and 27 others were admitted to a hospital after being administered a vaccine against Rubella in Sri Lanka's Matara district, prompting President Mahinda Rajapaksa to order a probe.

Health Ministry official, B Wanninayake, said here that one of the 28 girls, who fell ill and were admitted to a hospital on Thursday after the vaccine reacted, died on Friday morning.

Around 300 students of St Thomas' Girls School in Matara, about 160 km south of Colombo, were administered vaccine on Thursday after which some of them fell ill.

Source: The Hindu, 20th March 2009.

Peshala, Girl Killed By Rubella Vaccine, Was Contraindicated And Doctors Ignored Her Mother's Letter And Told The 12 Year Old To 'Go Home And Breast Feed From Your Mother', Before They Killed Her With The Shot

Peshala, the 12 year old girl vaccinated by force by doctors who pulled on her tie and then jabbed her. She later died.

Peshala Hansani, a 12-year-old student of S. Thomas’ Girls School, Matara becoming a victim following a vaccination programme against Rubella, alarmed the entire nation posing a threat to the higher health standards maintained by the country as the tug of war between health authorities continues, even after a week, as to what caused the death of Peshala.

“She was our only child and was precious to us. I even monitored the food she ate with such great concern and I can swear that she was not diagnosed for any serious illnesses. There were a few occasions she was given medicine for fever and the only health issue she had was the allergy to dairy products and the wheeze,” said Kalyani fighting back the tears.

“She never went out to play with other children. This was something that she missed in life as she used to get the wheeze when was in contact with dust, so she stayed out of sports but she was very good in other extracurricular activities. She had won many prizes for her inborn talent in speech, poetry and literature. She even did batik and fabric painting in addition to drawing,” Kalyani told us with sadness in her eyes.

I was concerned about my only child and my maternal instincts somehow were not agreeable to the vaccination. So I put an appointment with the doctor for my daughter to be vaccinated against Rubella on the coming Sunday (22) at the MOH office in my presence,” she said.

Since she was very worried about her daughter she had taken the child to another female doctor who assured her that not a single medical officer will vaccinate a child disregarding the child’s health concerns.

“Finally, I wrote a letter to the medical officer citing all her health conditions and her allergies. I pleaded with him to take all those into consideration before deciding whether she should be vaccinated or not. I said it like that because I sent a similar letter to the medical officer who came to vaccinate school children against tetanus last year. She was given a shot against tetanus a week before the programme and that medical officer after reading my letter had told my daughter she need not get vaccinated. Unfortunately this time my daughter was forced to get vaccinated,” she alleged.

A friend of Peshala who wished to be anonymous in fear that she will be ill-treated in school said that she was right throughout with Peshala until she was vaccinated because she was visibly worried.

“Peshala was right in front of the line we were in but she let others get vaccinated first and ultimately was the last to go to the doctor. I waited to accompany her to the classroom even though I was already vaccinated. She tried to give the letter which was clipped to her vaccination card but the doctor didn’t pay much attention to it. Then Peshala said she got the wheeze but the doctor said it is not a big deal (“hathiyath ledakda lamayo.”) Finally she said that she is allergic to dairy products. To this the doctor said if she is allergic to dairy products ask her mother to breast feed her when she returned home (“kiri kema allergic nam meka gahala gedara gihin mawkiri bonna.”) and vaccinated her after pulling her near by her tie,” the friend explained.

The friend also alleged that several other children who refused to get vaccinated because their parents had not wanted them to, were forced to get vaccinated.

Peshala’s mother and several other parents alleged that she was not rushed to the hospital as soon as she complained of chest pains and breathing difficulties.

“Her friends who came for the funeral said that Pehala had walked back to the class room showing no signs of pain but after a moment she had crushed the vaccination card in pain and had pulled her friend’s tie and complained that she was having chest pains. At that moment a medical officer had come and washed her face with water and told others not to worry as she might be feeling dizzy. Then he had gone upstairs to attend to two other students who had complained of similar discomforts. On his way back he had noticed that the condition of my daughter was not good and then only had the school authorities taken her to the hospital,” Kalyani said.

According to the Director of the Matara General Hospital, Dr. Aruna Jayasekara, Peshala was admitted to the hospital around 11.15 in the morning in a critical condition.
“When she was taken into the hospital her brain was already dead and the pulsing and breathing too had stopped. Even though we attempted to give her artificial respiration and get her pulse back to normal, it was useless. She was not responding to any of the treatments,” Dr. Jayasekara said.

Source: The Nation On Sunday.

Total Stupidity From WHO - They Must Think Parents Are Idiots

According to a report from WHO, the rubella vaccine did not kill 12 year old Peshala:

Two Specialists Doctors attached to the World Health Organization(WHO) who conducted an Inquiry on the Rubella Vaccine related Death in Sri Lanka stated in their report that the given Rubella Vaccine did not cause the Girl Student's Death. Girl Student Died due to the Shock caused by the Allergic Reaction she was having at the time Report stated.

Source: groundreport.com/WHO, 31 March 2009.

VAN UK'S Comment: Yes she died of an allergic reaction, to the vaccine! It is totally ridiculous to suggest it wasn't the vaccine that killed her when she was having a reaction to that vaccine, i.e. a vaccination death!

4 Year Old Dies After Oral Polio Vaccine

Barely a few hours after being administered the Oral Polio Vaccine at a Pulse Polio booth, a four-year-old child died on Sunday.

Ashish, was reportedly suffering from Grade-IV malnutrition and authorities claimed the death could have been a coincidence. The police have, however, registered a case. A postmortem will be conducted on Monday at the RML Hospital, said officials of health department, adding that the Union Health Ministry had been informed and a committee comprising officials from the Drug Control Authority would be looking into the matter.

“Though we have very little doubt that the vaccine lead to the child’s death, we are investigating the matter. The inquiry committee will soon submit its report,” said Dr C M Kaneju, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Pulse Polio Programme.

The child was given OPV at the Todapur Aanganwadi Centre along with 150 other children—among them was Ashish’s younger brother. “All children were given drops from the same vial and none of them have reported any side effect. We are monitoring their condition,” said Professor Kiran Walia, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Delhi.

Source: Indian Express, 25 May 2009

2 Month Old Dies In Her Mother's Arms Hours After Vaccination

A two-month-old baby girl died in her mother's arms yesterday morning, hours after having her first vaccination but an autopsy has revealed that she was smothered, police said.

Baby Cindy Apithy was bleeding from the nose and mouth when she died.

Her parents insisted yesterday that the child's death was caused by the vaccine, although the autopsy stated that she was smothered.

Police believe baby Cindy was accidentally crushed on the bed she shared with her mother and two-year-old sister.

Natalie James said: "I know what happened to my baby. I woke up several times to take care of the baby because she was crying. They trying to cover it up."

James said she woke to check on her baby around 2 a.m. when she noticed blood oozing from the child's nose and mouth. "I took her for a check up at the health centre, but I did not know they were going to give her a shot. I told the doctor that my older child had her first shot at three months, but they insisted. I never had a problem with my older daughter," she said.

James said her baby developed a fever soon after.

"I gave her the medicine the doctors prescribed but she was only crying and crying, I did not know what to do because she was getting stiff," she cried.

James, who lives at Lamont Street Ext, Longdenville, said when her baby began bleeding, she wrapped her in a blanket and ran through the streets begging for help. "I began screaming for someone to take me to the hospital because we had no transport. I went to a bar and a woman carried me to the health centre," she said.

By the time she arrived at the Chaguanas Health Centre, the baby was already dead, James said.

"I am blaming the doctors for this because my child was good. I feel the injection was too strong. I am going to file a complaint after the autopsy," she said.

Paediatrician Dr Beni Balkaran said the baby's death may not have been caused by the vaccine. Balkaran said: "Bleeding through the mouth and nose is not an adverse effect of the vaccine. The only way a baby would die from a vaccine would be if he suffers an allergic reaction and even that would not cause bleeding."

The child's 38-year-old father, Abenigo Apithy, an electrical technician, intends to seek legal advice, James said. "He is really distraught over our baby's death. We do not live together because of his work but he works really hard to care for his children," she said.

Source: Trinidad and Tobago Express, 3rd June 2009.

VAN UK's Comment: There is medical literature which shows that vaccines can cause scurvy, which causes bleeding in the eyes, nose and mouth. For more details, see SIDS and vaccines page.

More Sri Lankan Girls Sick After Rubella Vaccine

A group of school girls in Matara were admitted to the hospital following the administration of rubella vaccine.

Hospital sources said that several students in Mahamaya Girls School in Matara have been admitted to the hospital experiencing severe headaches and other symptoms after the vaccination.

However, they are not in a life threatening condition, the hospital confirmed.

In mid March a 12-year-old school girl, Peshala Hansanai of the Matara St. Thomas Girls School died and 26 more students fell ill following administration of Rubella vaccine.

Following the incident, the government has temporarily suspended the school rubella vaccination program. The program was later recommenced in May under the guidance of World Health Organization.

Source: Colombo page, 19th June 2009.

My 1 Year Old Grandson is DEAD After Vaccines Without His Mother's Consent - Help Needed

Friday October 2, 2009 my daughter took her youngest son Chris to the pediatrican for a 1 yr check. Chris is a special needs child.

At 6 months he was given vaccines and within 24 hours began having serious seizures.

Friday, he came in with a fever, coughing and runny nose. The nurse by the peds orders came in without asking, without signatures,and gave him a flu shot, adding 5 other shots with it.

My daughter was so angry -- she asked why she did this, when she told them he was already sick and the serious reactions from his past vaccinations. She said" it was no big deal, its not going to hurt him."

NO SIGNATURE, NO DISCLAIMER. NO PERMISSION FOR AN ACTION TO WHICH THE PARENTS HAD ALREADY SAID NO.

As of this morning, Chris was dead.

I AM MAD AS HELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE
I am on my way to Michigan by tomorrow and you know what,.
I want some sort of names, phones, attorneys and anyone we can find to sue this scum for what they have done.

I spoke to a hospital nurse today and she happens to have a special needs child herself and she said, "take names, get records".

This is all I am going to say besides how sorry I am and how sick I am how they have treated this family.

THIS IS OBAMACARE IN ACTION KILLING CHILDREN, VACCINES WITHOUT REASON, AND ENDING THE LIVES OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.

ANY SUPPORT, SUGGESTIONS OR OTHERWISE FOR US PLEASE CONTACT ME.

ELIZABETH WALLACE elizabethsarmor@gmail.com

Another Girl Dead and others Sick After Rubella Vaccine

Another school girl who was administrated with rubella vaccine has died last night after being admitted to Kurunegala hospital.

According to the police, three students from Wariyapola area has been admitted to Kurunegala hospital last evening due to severe headaches and other symptoms after administration of rubella vaccine.

One of the students who has been admitted to Intensive Care Unit immediately due to her serious condition, later died, hospital sources confirmed. The other two girls have been discharged after treatments.

In mid March a 12-year-old school girl, Peshala Hansanee of St. Thomas Girls School in Matara died and 26 others fell ill following administration of rubella vaccine.

Following the incident, the government temporarily suspended the school rubella vaccination program and later recommenced in May under the guidance of World Health Organization.

Source: Colombopage news desk, Sri Lanka, 13 October 2009.

Another report on the death of 13 Year Old in Sri Lanka From Rubella Vaccine

Last week we heard the tragic death of yet another school girl, Ashanti Wasana (13) of Minuwangete Maha Vidyalaya, Wariyapola following the Rubella vaccination. It was seven months ago on March 19 that the first death following Rubella vaccination was reported from Matara. The victim then was Peshala Hansini (12), a student of St. Thomas’ Girls College, Matara.

In both cases the immediate reaction of the authorities was the same. They blurted out drab statistics to show that everything was normal. It is said that the casualty rate following Rubella vaccination is one in a million or so. (So, why worry?) True. Yet is that the way to react?

Taking their own statistics, we find the casualty rate in Sri Lanka much higher. It is up to the authorities to generalise. From the point of view of a lay observer there must be something wrong somewhere. Either the vaccine was sub-standard or it was not stored properly leading to contamination. Or else, there was something wrong in its administration - either necessary precautions including a proper diagnose of the health condition of the child was not made or some other medical negligence had taken place. The exact reason could be known after a full investigation.

Among the excuses blurted out by the Spokesman is the fact that it was not mandatory to indicate the date of manufacture or date of expiry in the vaccines or in the packaging. He even cited examples from foreign countries. However, how credible his assertions were is a debatable question.

He admitted that the vaccines currently in use do not have the date of manufacture marked but ensured that only those that have the date of manufacture marked will be imported for next year. This raises the question why such vaccines were imported at all. Reputed manufacturers mark both the date of manufacture and the date of expiry on their products including vaccines. This is essential as every product has a maximum life span, for no product could be used eternally. In the case of Rubella vaccines it is about two years from the date of manufacture.

The callous attitude of the authorities is seen from another incident, also related to rubella vaccination. A Health Ministry spokesman told the media last week that the first Rubella death was due to negligence of the provincial authorities and a charge sheet was delivered to the responsible officer on October 12. That is almost seven months later. The authorities had to wait till another death to charge those responsible for the first accident.

It is the height of irresponsibility and criminal negligence of the higher authorities that they waited so long and for another death to occur. What is worse is the attempt to exonerate themselves from the blame by referring to bureaucratic delays and trade union pressure. This is conduct most shameful and despicable.

No one should find cover behind statistics or administrative difficulties in matters that concern life and death. They should, first of all be humane. The principle to be followed should be ‘One death is too many’.

Mistakes could happen, for no one is infallible. The first thing to do when a mistake occurs, however, is to admit it and then to ensure that it does not happen again.

Source: Daily News, Sri Lanka's Daily newspaper, 19 October 2009.

8 Year Old Boy Dies After Flu Vaccine

The state Department of Health is investigating the unexpected death of an 8-year-old boy at Stony Brook University Hospital on Sunday, Oct. 11.

The boy — reportedly from Kings Park, although Claudia Hutton in the DOH Office of Public Relations in Albany would not confirm that or the boy's name — had been admitted to St. Catherine's of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown days before and transferred to the tertiary-level SBUH on Oct. 8. He was eventually removed from life support and died Sunday.

Reports published since the incident have implied a possible connection between the death and a flu shot the boy received the week before his death.

"He did not have flu," Hutton said. "He did not die as a reaction to the vaccine. Some sort of virus went through him," she speculated, since tests were not to be completed by DOH before the end of this week at the soonest. Hutton said the parents requested no autopsy be performed.

Hutton explained that an adverse reaction to a vaccine — in this case the boy received a seasonal flu vaccination, not an H1N1 shot — usually occurs "within hours if it happens at all," so the fact that the boy's hospitalization occurred five days later makes a connection highly unlikely.

Source: Times Beacon Record, 21 October 2009.

VAN UK's Comment: Scientists are well aware of the latent phase which has been described in medical journals since the 1930's. The NHS also say that a child is most likely to 'react' to MMR 10-14 days later, so they know reactions do happen later.

Lily Got Seizure Disorder and Died After 'Immunizations'

Lily Doherty loved to wave.

She would shake her hand at anyone who wandered by.

But when her leg began to shake, and then her head, and finally, her entire body, her mother knew something was horribly wrong.

The seizures began eight days after Lily's second set of immunizations. A third set of immunizations made the seizures worse, her mother says, until Lily died on Oct. 11, 2002.

She no longer vaccinates her surviving two children.

"Some might say I'm just being hysterical," Stephanie Lee said recently at her Finlayson home. "Well, I guess that's my option. If I've already had one die, how many other parents would say, 'oh, let's line the other two up?'"

Source: Eyewitness News, 15 November 2009.

Disaplinary Action to be Taken Against Medics Who Vaccinated Contraindicated Girl, Who Then Died As a Result

Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday instructed National Drugs Control Authority Chairman Dr. Hemantha Benaragama to take disciplinary action against the medical staff of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital who had allegedly not done enough to save the life of a school girl at Wariyapola. The victim died at the hospital after rubella vaccination was administered to her on October 12.

Minister de Silva also instructed Dr. Benaragama to submit a report on the death of the 12-year-old girl Ashanti Wasana Prematilaka of the Minuwangetta Maha Vidyalaya who succumbed to complications developed after the rubella vaccination.

Ministry spokesman W.M.D. Wanninayaka said the initial inquiry conducted by the Investigation Division of the Ministry had found there had been negligence on the part of the medical staff who attended to the girl.

“It has been revealed that the Wariyapola MOH failed to check the girl before the vaccination even after the parents had informed him the girl was allergic to injections. They have not given the girl the necessary drugs that had been stored in the Emergency Tray even after the victim had developed Anaphylactic Shock following the vaccination,” Wanninayaka said.

The Minister will take strict disciplinary action against those if found guilty of medical negligence, he said. The suspended school rubella vaccination programme will be resumed after tests carried out on the rubella vaccines being carried out at a prestigious medical laboratory in Canberra, Australia are reported he said

Wanninayaka added suppliers of injections which contained rubber band and pieces of plastic would be blacklisted before a formal inquiry.

Source: Daily Mirror, 26 November 2009.

8 Year Old Boy Dies After MMR and DPT Vaccines, Parents Make Official Complaint That They Were Not Warned of The Dangers of Vaccination

The National Ombudsman, Alex Brenninkmeijer, will
investigate complaints of parents whose 8-year old son is deceased
after being vaccinated with the MMR-called DTP. That made the
ombudsman said Tuesday.

The National Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM), the parents
have not properly informed about the complications that can occur
after a vaccination. "They also complain about the RIVM the link
between the vaccination and the death of their son has been studied
insufficiently independent," says Brenninkmeijer.

The family Hagoort out on March 9, 2009 Barendrecht had watched their
eight year old son Freek three days after an MMR-DTP vaccination and death.

Meanwhile there is already much attention to the sudden death of
Fletch, so devoted to TV A Day on May 22 this year a report on this
matter. Also there is now a website of the foundation know more about
Fletch.

Source:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/5460245/__Onderzoek_naar_dood_8-jarig_jongetje__.html?p=27,1

2 Month Old Baby Dies After Hep B, DPT, oral Polio Vaccines

A two-month-old baby girl died a day after she was administered oral pulse polio drops along with Hepatitis B vaccine and DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) vaccine at a health post in Bhandup, on Saturday morning. The family of the infant, Dhrushti Pingle, alleged that the death was caused by the vaccines.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s immunization in charge Dr Mangala Gomare confirmed the death but said it could be due to other reasons. “It could be an adverse event following immunization. Right now we cannot comment whether it is related or just a co-incidence. It is true that the baby was healthy before the immunization, however, only after we get the post mortem reports, can we be sure about the cause of death.”

The family alleged that Dhrushti’s death was due to the vaccines. “She was a healthy baby. At 11 pm on Saturday she suddenly started crying while playing and her nose started bleeding too. We rushed her to Rajawadi Hospital around 3 am on Sunday but she died early in the morning,” said Pandurang Patil, Dhrushti’s uncle.

Source: Indian Express, 7th December 2009.

18 Year Old Killed By Gardasil Vaccine

Rhonda Renata is in no doubt about what caused the death of her daughter Jasmine.

The 18-year-old died last September 22 at her family home in Upper Hutt, apparently in her sleep.

Her grieving mother is still waiting for official answers on what happened to Jasmine but she doubts the medical investigations will provide them.

Her own inquiries have led her to cases overseas which she considers similar to Jasmine's clutch of symptoms before she died.

In the United States, it has been alleged more than 10 deaths are linked to Gardasil.

Several lawsuits have been filed relating to paralysis of teenage girls, one of whom died.

She recalls her last night with Jasmine, which was the day she passed her restricted driver's licence.

"She was really over the moon that day; she was quite stoked with herself."

Jasmine picked her mother up from work and they went shopping and ate together before heading home.

"She gave me a hug and a kiss and said, 'I love you'. I said, 'Love you too' and she went to bed."

The next afternoon, Mrs Renata went to pick up Jasmine from work, but learned she had been absent. She found her dead in bed in her sleep-out.

She describes Jasmine as previously bubbly, happy and healthy.

But this began to change about a month after the first Gardasil dose in September 2008.

She progressively developed pains in various parts of her body, had an episode of her heart racing, weak arms, tingling in her hands and legs, and became tired and irritable.

Jasmine had been having three-monthly injections of the contraceptive Depo-Provera but had not had any difficulties with that or the meningococcal-B vaccine.

Source: nzherald.co.nz, by Martin Johnston, 9 January 2010.

Parents of Baby Killed By DPT Vaccine Create Riot Outside Police Station (Good For Them!)

Following the death of a two-and-half-month old newly born child after he was allegedly administered the wrong DPT (Diphtheria Tetanus
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Pertussis) vaccine by an ANM at the PHC in Bidhnoo, relatives of the deceased created ruckus outside Bidhnoo police station here on Thursday.

They demanded the officials at the Bidhnoo police station to register an FIR against the ANM, Reena Pandey, who had allegedly administered the vaccine.

The victim, Chotu, son of Shyam Sunder Shukla, a resident of Bidhnoo, Madarsa later died in the night. As the death news reached the village, locals gathered in front of the Bidhnoo police station on Thursday morning and demanded immediate arrest of the ANM, Reena Pandey. The police officials, however, requested the protesters to maintain peace and assured them of prompt action in the case.

"Relatives of the victim have submitted a written complaint against the accused. The ANM has not yet been arrested. The body of the victim has been sent for an autopsy," said a police official at the Bidhnoo police station. The police said they are now awaiting the post-mortem examination report for further investigation.

The chief medical officer Dr Ashok Mishra said: "A team that was sent to the village conducted a probe, in this regard and discovered that the child was suffering from pneumonia." We will then also investigate the matter, added another senior district health official while talking to TOI.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Relatives-create-ruckus-over-death-of-baby-/articleshow/5421271.cms

2 Year Old Dies After Polio Drops

A two-year-old boy died soon after polio drops were administered to him at a polio immunisation camp at a school here as part of a state-wide immunisation drive, the District Collector said today.

The boy, Vijai, had been admitted to hospital on January 3 for wheezing and was subsequently treated and discharged. He was given polio drops yesterday at the camp and went about playing, but soon developed wheezing problems again and died, District Collector Sugandh told reporters.

Immediately after his death, the polio immunisation camp at the school was stopped and samples of the batch sent for examination. The expiry date was checked and was found to be within the time limit, she said.

Source: Press Trust of India, 11 January 2010.

Five Deaths in Sri Lanka and They've Suspended Pentavalent Vaccine

Two months after being introduced nationwide, the health ministry has alerted all hospitals to immediately stop vaccinating infants with the pentavalent vaccine, because it may have side effects.

The circular, which was sent on October 23, states, “… the use of pentavalent vaccine should be stopped immediately due to some side effects. All adverse events following on immunisation (AEFI) must be strengthened, reported and investigated.”

The ministry’s media spokesperson, Kado Zangpo, said that, while the investigation is on, health centres will continue to immunise infants the way it was done before the introduction of pentavalent vaccine. “We have asked the world health organisation to come and do the investigations,” said the spokesperson.

Pentavalent vaccine was introduced to protect infants against pneumonia, one of the leading causes of death in children under 15 years in Bhutan, and meningitis. It’s a combination of vaccines against diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, hepatitis-B and the haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) germ.

Details regarding the side effects are, however, sketchy. The ministry will be briefing the press with more details today at 2:00 pm, said health officials.

Doctors say that no vaccine is free of side effects and that they change when vaccines are combined. Vaccines generally cause pain in the place of injection, swelling, redness, irritability and fever. Some are serious like allergies and can be fatal, say doctors.

Bhutan received a total of 30,200 pentavalent vaccines from the global alliance for vaccine initiative (GAVI), which can vaccinate 1,100 babies. In a year, about 13,600 newborns are immunised across the country.

All unused vaccines will be collected by the ministry’s cold van, according to the circular. But, while some district hospitals have collected their unused stock of pentavalent vaccines, in some, the collection is still on.

Pemagatshel, for example, which received 300 doses, has a leftover of 180 ready to be returned. But, Trashigang, one of the largest districts, is still collecting vaccines from health units in the far-flung areas.

Last year in April, Sri Lanka withdrew the pentavalent vaccine as a precautionary measure, following five reports of fatal AEFIs and 20 reports of non-fatal AEFIs. However, the report of the WHO expert panel that reviewed the data found no evidence of a relationship between the pentavalent vaccine and any of the five deaths reported. The vaccine remains on the list of WHO prequalified vaccines and Sri Lanka resumed the vaccination from this year.

This is the first time, a vaccine has been stopped in Bhutan since the extended program for immunisation (EPI) was launched in 1979.

Side effects of pentavalent vaccine
Non-fatal AEFIs, described as hypotonic-hypo responsive episode (HHE), are a recognised adverse reaction to such vaccines. HHE is characterised by sudden onset of reduced muscle tone, hypo responsiveness and pallor or cyanosis, a condition in which the skin becomes bluish because of a lack of oxygen in the blood.
Studies have shown that HHE lasts for a short period and has no long-term consequences for the child. In Sri Lanka, a “hyper-response” was observed in a number of children, who were given the vaccination.

Source: Kuensel Online, 28 October 2009, by Sonam Pelden.

Shipley family believes fits were triggered by measles jab

Tragic mum Tracy Swatton could have died from a fatal fit brought on by a ‘one-in-20 million’ reaction to a jab she had when she was four, her family believe.

The 37-year-old was found on the bedroom floor by her husband Tom when he came home from work.

Her sudden death has left her family distraught.

Her mum, Jean Green, of Briggate, Shipley, said her “happy go lucky daughter” had been blighted by epilepsy ever since she had a measles jab.

Despite medical research finding no statistical connections between measles jabs and epilepsy, the family are convinced her jab triggered it.

Former Telegraph & Argus columnist Dr Tom Smith said it would have been such a rare reaction that the chances of it happening would have been one in 20 million.

The fact that her symptoms began six days after the jab meant it could be a possibility, he said, even though the onset year of childhood epilepsy is four.

Typically any reaction to the measles vaccine, usually a fine rash and slight fever, happens six days to the hour of it being given.

“The chances of it triggering epilepsy are so small, that it must be about one in 20 million,” said Dr Smith.

Mrs Green said: “Tracy was perfectly healthy until five or six days after the jab when she started flickering her eyes and the fits followed. We’ve always blamed the jab for it. Even the doctors advised her not to let her sons have measles jabs.”

Doctors put her on medication after the epilepsy was diagnosed but the fits continued throughout her life – in 2005 she was hospitalised when she had 197 fits in a week.

More recently her fits had decreased to two a week, said Mrs Green.

“Only the day before she died we’d been laughing and joking together. She hadn’t been feeling too good for a few days and had been to see her doctor. When her husband Tom went to work that morning she’d taken her tablets and gone back to bed but when he came home he found her on the floor.”

Source: The Telegraph and Argus, by Kathie Griffiths, 1st February 2010.

Two Babies a Year Die From Vaccines in the UK

TWO children a year die after routine vaccinations, research has shown.

In some cases the Government has awarded parents up to £100,000 under its Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979. In others, post mortem examin­ations concluded that the injection was the most likely cause of death.

The figures, compiled by vaccine damage support group Jabs, come in the wake of last month’s decision by the General Medical Council that Dr Andrew Wakefield, who sparked the MMR controversy, acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly”. The research also found that it has become more difficult to get compensation for vaccine damage despite no drop in the number of children being affected.

There were 970 payments made between 1979 and 1994, about 65 a year, to parents of damaged children.

Since then there have been only 28 payments, approximately two successful claims a year. Critics say this is because the criteria for making a claim have become so strict. Peter Fletcher, former chief scientific officer for the Department of Health, is demanding an overhaul of the payment system.

He said: “We need to point out in easy language that vaccines have always had a level of adverse effects.

“However, it is hard to meet the standard of proof to win compensation and awards have been miserly.”

Julie Roberts, 40, whose daughter Stacey died after an MMR jab, said: “The Government should take responsibility. It has never given proper warnings of the risk and still doesn’t despite the evidence.”

Source: The Express, 7 February 2010

VAN UK'S Comment: The 2 deaths a year are only the number of cases that win compensation, which is almost impossible to do and the number of reported reactions is about 10% of the actual figure so the death rate will be much higher.

77 Babies out of 2871 Die in BCG Vaccine Trial, Which is then Stopped. No Charges Brought Against Researchers

Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Objective To determine whether BCG revaccination at 19 months of age reduces overall child mortality.

Design Randomised trial, with follow-up to age 5.

Setting A health project in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, which maintains a health and demographic surveillance system in an urban area with 90 000 inhabitants.

Participants 2871 children aged 19 months to 5 years with low or no reactivity to tuberculin and who were not severely sick on the day of enrolment.

Intervention BCG vaccination or no vaccination (control).

Main outcome measure Hazard ratios for mortality.

Results 77 children died during follow-up. Compared with controls, the BCG revaccinated children had a hazard ratio of 1.20 (95% confidence interval 0.77 to 1.89). Two hundred and fifty children were admitted to hospital for the first time between enrolment and the end of the study, with an incidence rate ratio for BCG revaccinated children versus controls of 1.04 (0.81 to 1.33). The trial was stopped prematurely because of a cluster of deaths in the BCG arm of the study. This increase in mortality occurred at a time when many children had received missing vaccinations or vitamin A or iron supplementation; the hazard ratio for BCG revaccinated children compared with controls was 2.69 (1.05 to 6.88) in the period after these campaigns. Throughout the trial, the effect of BCG revaccination on mortality was significantly different (P=0.006) in children who had received diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) booster vaccination before enrolment (hazard ratio 0.36, 0.13 to 0.99) and children who had not received the booster before enrolment (1.78, 1.04 to 3.04).

Conclusions There was no overall beneficial effect of being revaccinated with BCG. The effect of BCG revaccination on mortality might depend on other health interventions.

Source: BMJ 2010;340:c671

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/mar15_1/c671#SEC1

Four Children Dead and 74 Seriously Sickened after Vaccination in China

China's Health Ministry is investigating the safety of inoculations in a northern province after a report that defective vaccines possibly killed four children and seriously sickened dozens.

The ministry urged health authorities in Shanxi province to promptly report any abnormal reactions triggered by vaccines, saying "the ministry attaches great importance to this issue and will carry out an investigation immediately," according to a statement posted on its Web site late Wednesday.

The China Economic Times newspaper reported Wednesday that vaccines for encephalitis, hepatitis B, rabies and other diseases administered by government-run clinics were possibly linked to the deaths of four children in 2008 and 2009 and the sickening of at least 74 others in the province.

The newspaper said the four children who died were aged between 8 months and 3 years, and each had convulsions and fever shortly after being vaccinated. Doctors were unable to diagnose their illnesses before the children died.

Other children developed major illnesses such as encephalitis, with some becoming crippled, the report said.

The newspaper cited a former staffer at the provincial center for disease prevention and control as saying the problem could be linked to improper storage: The vaccines were exposed to heat when refrigeration was required.

Source: AZ Central.com, 18 March 2010.

Here's another report on the same incident in China:

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has told the Shanxi health department to conduct an investigation after it was reported on Wednesday that nearly 100 children in the province had died or fell ill after receiving vaccinations at government-designated clinics from 2006 to 2008.

The Shanxi government denied the widely-circulated report and the provincial health department said it had not received reports of mass adverse effects from any vaccination, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing a division chief.

The MOH, in a statement posted on its website, said it has asked the local health department to report the latest situation on any possible adverse reactions to the vaccines.

A report in the China Economic Times on Wednesday, citing Chen Tao'an - a whistleblower who had worked with the provincial center for disease control and prevention (CDC) in 2007 - blamed tainted vaccines for the deaths or disabilities of the children.

According to the report, the local health department in 2006 asked an unqualified private company to supply the vaccines, a practice that law experts said was against national regulations.

Chen blamed abuse of power and corruption by local health authorities but the MOH said it had launched an investigation into the case, which was closed in November 2008. It found that the sampled vaccines met national standards.

But the China Economic Times published what it described was a partial list of vaccine victims aged 2-17.

The four who died after being administered tainted vaccines were 9-month-old Wang Xiao'er and 8-month-old Liu Ziyang from Luliang city; and 3-year-old Wang Shichao and Liu Yi from Yangquan city, the report said.

Children from 74 families were crippled or developed serious diseases such as encephalitis after being vaccinated against hepatitis B, rabies, and type-B encephalitis, it said.

Wang Mingliang, the father of Wang Xiao'er, told the newspaper that his only son died in August 2008, about seven months after being vaccinated against hepatitis B.

The boy had fever and convulsions a week after the vaccination but hospitals in the province and Beijing could not find the cause, he said.

Chen said he believed it was tainted vaccine that caused the child's death.

"Vaccines which should have been kept refrigerated according to regulations were found to be piled up in non-air-conditioned buildings," Chen told the paper.

"Spoiled vaccines should have been destroyed according to regulations on vaccine safety but they were still used," he said.

Law experts said if that proved true, it would be tantamount to a criminal case.

Source: China Daily, 18th March 2010.

Four Babies Dead After Measles Vaccines - Doctor and Nurse Arrested for Culpable Homicide

Four babies have died after being given anti-measles shots at a government vaccination camp in Madhya Pradesh, prompting the arrest of a doctor and a nurse amid fears that expired drugs had been used.

Gaurav Vishwakarma (nine months), Karnika Thakur (11 months) and Rohini (13 months) died yesterday, one day after being given the vaccines at the Anganwadi Kendra camp in Damoh.

Nine-month-old Arman Vishwakarma — one of 10 babies hospitalised in a serious condition — died this morning, police said.

There was no official word on the vaccines, but Bhopal-based officials of the state government’s health and family welfare department, which runs the camps, hinted that the vaccine samples may have been past their expiry dates. The additional district magistrate has been asked to prepare a report on the cause of the deaths.

Victim Gaurav’s mother Gauri said the babies developed diarrhoea and their health deteriorated rapidly after the vaccine was administered. Gaurav and two others were dead by the time they had been taken to the Damoh district hospital.

“I was told a measles vaccination camp was being organised at the kendra. I took my son to the camp where he was administered the vaccine,” said Gauri, still struggling to come to terms with the death of her child.

At this time last year, many babies in the Sagar division of the state, of which Damoh is a part, had contracted measles. So, this time, there was enthusiastic response to the vaccination drive. Many families from far-flung areas of the district hired vehicles to travel to the camp.

The arrested doctor-nurse duo, who had given the injections, have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, said the Damoh additional superintendent of police, Mukesh Shrivastav.

“Prima facie, it appears a case of criminal negligence. Action will taken against the officials, as well as the distributor and controller of the vaccine.”

Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, 14th March 2010.

Baby Dies after Polio Drops

A day after a six-month-old baby died in Gosaintolla village after being administered polio drops, tension prevailed in the area as locals staged agitation demanding an inquiry into the matter. While the district police seized the vials and registered a case, the state health department has initiated an inquiry into the incident.

"There were 18 babies who were given pulse polio drops on Sunday. The baby in question was doing fine while at the booth. On reaching home, the baby started foaming in the mouth and died," said Sreekanto Roy, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) in Malda.

He added: "We have initiated an investigation into the case and have notified the state health department. The postmortem of the body has been done and we are awaiting the forensic report."

The six-month-old son of a local farmer was accompanied by his elder brother to the booth in Gosaintolla village under Gopalgunj police station area in Kaliachowk. As the news broke out, over hundred villagers laid siege to the booth and staged agitations, while not allowing health workers to leave the booth. The district health officials intimated the police, who went to the spot and rescued the health workers, amid resistance from villagers, said a police officer.

Source: Yahoo News, 16th March 2010.

Parents of Children Killed By Vaccines in China, March to Health Authority to Speak Directly to Health Officials after they Deny the Deaths

STUNG by officials' denials, parents of scores of children who allegedly died or were sickened after getting vaccines are traveling to Shanxi Province's capital city of Taiyuan to tell their stories of misery to investigators from the Health Ministry.

The vaccination accusations were first reported on Wednesday by China Economic Times.

The Shanxi Health Bureau quickly denied the report, saying it checked with 10 children said to be victims and found only one of them had abnormal reactions to the vaccines.

However, China Economic Times soon issued a statement strongly defending itself and saying it had collected enough proof to back up its story.

Disappointed by the way the Shanxi health authorities handled the case, parents said they will go to the provincial capital, Taiyuan City, to tell their stories "face to face" to the investigators to help them learn the truth, one of the parents told Luzhong News.

The parents are coming from Luliang, Gaoping, Linfen and Yuncheng cities, the newspaper said yesterday.

According to the China Economic Times report, two babies and two toddlers in Shanxi died and another 76 became ill after being jabbed against hepatitis B, rabies and Type-B encephalitis.

The vaccines may have been tainted by poor storage and some shots were given in the wrong season, said the report, citing Chen Tao'an, a former official with the Shanxi Province Disease Prevention & Control Center.

Chen told the newspaper complaints to Shanxi health authorities fell on deaf ears.

The vaccines, which should be refrigerated to keep active, were piled up in a building without air-conditioning, even in summer heat, and the truck transporting the vaccines was not cooled, Chen said.

He said he had seen workers sweating in pants while labeling the vaccines in the muggy building.

Center authorities encouraged people to get vaccinated against Type-B encephalitis, a disease spread by mosquitoes, in autumn of 2006 -- the wrong season for the insects, he added.

"Spoiled vaccines should be destroyed according to law rather than put in use on humans," he pointed out.

Chen was removed from his post at the center in July 2005 along with other leading officials of the center. A vaccine distribution unit launched later was headed by Tian Jianguo, who was also the general manager of Huawei Shidai Co -- the unit's only vaccine supplier, Chen said.

Shanxi's health bureau said late on Wednesday that an agency appointed by the state food and drug watchdog tested samples of the stored vaccines, and that they all complied with national standards with no adverse reactions reported.

But an official surnamed Zhao with the Health Ministry's supervising unit denied the bureau's account, saying they only investigated the center's administrative issues, not the vaccines.

The Shanghai Health Bureau said yesterday there were no reports of severe side effects on children after receiving vaccinations in the city. Vaccinations in the city are going on as normal.

Source: Shanghai Daily, 20th March 2010.

Death after Vaccination

A federal court ruled recently that mercury in vaccines doesn’t cause autism, but parents like Erica Henderson aren’t buying it.

Henderson and her husband lost their second child when he was six weeks old. He died hours after he received his first immunizations.

She believes her son’s death is directly linked to his vaccinations. And her belief is based not only on this experience, she says, but on the adverse reactions of her firstborn shortly after receiving his own vaccinations.

Henderson and her husband are part of the growing anti-vaccine movement, arguing that immunization is linked to a long list of diseases and disabilities, including autism, attention deficit disorder, allergies, paralysis and even death.

Many of these parents decide to keep their children in school even though they don’t have the required immunizations.

But how easy is it for them to enroll and provide their kids with the same experiences that every parent wants?

Dennis Roberson, chief of special education services for the Orange County Department of Education, and Nathan Wright, director of the Thinktwice Global Vaccine Institute, are on different sides of the immunizations debate, but they agree on at least one thing: There are no legal barriers for parents who want to enroll their unvaccinated children in California public schools.

Read more: http://www.oclnn.com/orange-county/2010-03-23/education/anti-vaccination-parents-can-keep-kids-in-calif-schools#ixzz0kAKcfExT

VAN UK's Comment: This report fails to mention the 4 court hearings that DID link vaccines to ASD

Parents Threatened to Keep Quiet About Vaccine Deaths and Side-Effects

Shortly after Liu Yan’s four-year-old son, Liu Yi, was bitten by a dog, he did what any responsible parent would do: took his child to the hospital for a vaccination. Two weeks later, after the fourth injection, Liu Yi became violently ill.

The next morning, on Aug. 27, 2008, the boy was taken to First People’s Hospital in Yangquan city in central China’s Shanxi province, where he was diagnosed with viral meningitis. Liu Yi’s condition quickly deteriorated and he died later that afternoon.

Liu Yan blamed the rabies vaccination for his son’s death, and according to a searing media report last month, he might not be alone.

"My son was in good health before he got the rabies vaccine," Liu Yan told IPS. "Nobody could clarify why my child got sick."

On Mar. 17, the Beijing-based ‘China Economic Times’, a business and finance newspaper published by the state-run Development Research Centre, reported on alleged irregularities and safety concerns within Shanxi’s immunisation programme.

The expose said that improperly stored vaccines administered by the provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for encephalitis, hepatitis B and rabies between 2006 and 2008 had killed four children and made more than 70 others ill. People were exposed to the faulty vaccinations as late as March 2009.

The six-part series, which took six months to compile and includes interviews with families of 36 victims, has snowballed into a nationwide scandal involving children’s health. The ‘Times’ alleged that the vaccine provider, Beijing-based Huawei Shidai Co, began charging citizens for vaccines that should have been administered for free, and raised the price of other vaccines.

The report also charges that Li Wenyuan, former Shanxi CDC director, used more than half of the funds from Huawei’s initial deposit to buy a new car for his private use.

The scandal came to light after Chen Taoan, a former CDC information office official, told ‘China Economic Times’ he had seen vaccines provided by Huawei exposed to high temperatures before they were distributed across the province. In one case, Chen saw boxes of vaccines left in a room with no air conditioning while workers labelled them.

"I was shocked," Chen said in an interview with IPS. "It was so hot. The vaccines should be stored in a freezer. How could they be exposed to high temperatures for so long? It’s very dangerous."

Chen said he initially filed a report to the Shanxi Provincial People’s Procuratorate in May 2007, which was ignored. He was removed from his post and put on cleaning duties in early 2009.

Provincial authorities have denied that the vaccinations were unsafe.

On the day of the ‘China Economic Times’ story, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Li Shukai, the local deputy health director, as saying the allegations were "basically untrue." (The next day, the ‘Times’ responded with a published announcement on its website stating that the publication "stands by all the facts written in the report.")

On Mar. 22, the provincial government maintained that the vaccines were safe, but admitted that the provincial CDC and Huawei had violated rules.

The local government launched an investigation into the scandal, which was assisted by a group sent by the Ministry of Health and experts from other provinces. A week later, the Chinese Medical Association sent a team of eight experts to Shanxi, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, the provincial food and drug administration launched an inspection campaign on vaccine quality and safety in late March.

Ju Xianhua, deputy secretary general of the Shanxi government, said at a press conference that vaccines in the province were being "strictly monitored and their quality is guaranteed." He said the province had sent experts to examine the cases of all 15 children named in the news reports.

In response to the Shanxi scandal, the Ministry of Health issued notices defending the quality and safety of vaccines manufactured in China. The country’s top health authority encouraged the public to follow the vaccination programme, which it said was the best way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

China has been hit by several vaccination scandals in recent weeks. Disease control and prevention authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, found after an initial investigation that some children became ill or paralysed after receiving an H1N1 flu vaccine. (Officials said a further investigation was needed for a thorough assessment).

According to the Hong Kong-based ‘Mingpao’ magazine, one of Jiangsu province’s top vaccine producers, Jiangsu Yanshen Biological Stock Co Ltd, had produced contaminated vaccines that over the years had sickened over one million people. The company has halted production and seven top executives have been arrested on charges of producing and selling fake vaccines.

In Shanxi, parents of six alleged victims travelled to Taiyuan, the provincial capital, to demand an explanation from the local health bureau, the ‘Guangzhou Daily’ reported. After a meeting with officials was denied, some parents engaged in a brief confrontation with bureau staffers.

"I have not received any compensation," said Jia Haibo of Changzhi city, whose three-year-old daughter, Jia Xiaonu, fell ill with a mysterious case of necrotising fasciitis after receiving a vaccine for mumps in July 2008. She recovered, but still struggles to use her left hand. "I can do nothing but wait for the final results," the father said.

According to media reports, Chen and parents of some of the affected children received threatening text messages in the days following the ‘China Economic Times’ report. Some messages offered bribes of 50,000 to 100,000 renminbi (7,324 to 14,648 U.S. dollars) for keeping quiet.

Chen confirmed that he has received threats, but does not fear for his safety. "I’m happy more and more people are starting to pay attention to this problem."

Source: Health China, 6 April 2010

2 Month old Baby Girl Dies after Polio Drops

A two-month-old baby girl was died of high fever and infection. But its parents have claimed that the child died after taking the polio drops. They have said that the baby died after 48 hours of taking the polio drops. The local civic authorities in Surat have provided the polio medicine.

However, authorities have denied the allegation saying the baby girl was died of high fever.

The girl named Khusbhu of Sriram society at Amroli had high fever and infection. She was then taken to private clinic and later has been forwarded to the civil hospital where she breathes her last. Her parents have given some tablets to control the fever but the condition was so bad to save her as per the hospital officials.

As per the father of the baby, the tablets were given by the health workers. He has accused the health workers of providing outdated vaccines. Then the baby girl has also taken polio drops.

But the Deputy municipal commissioner Hemant Desai of SMC has refused that the vaccine was out dated and also the cause of death is due to the dose of polio drops.

Source: TopNews.in, 2nd May 2010.

8 Month old Dies 2 Hours, 45 Minutes after Polio Vaccine

AN eight-month-old girl's death, which occurred a matter of hours after she received a polio vaccine injection, has resulted in an inquiry being ordered.

According to a complaint made by Wakad resident Santosh Dhende to officials of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), his daughter Sanjana was administered her second dose of the triple polio vaccine and soon the child started showing signs of uneasiness.

The doctors allegedly dismissed the parents' concerns, saying such things were routine during immunisation and they need not worry.

The Dhendes were asked to take their baby home, but soon after reaching their residence at Mhatoba Nagar in Wakad, Sanjana turned blue in the face and had to be rushed back to Thergaon municipal hospital, where she had been given the vaccine.

"The dose was given at 11.30 am and the child was brought back at 12.30 pm in a serious condition. We gave her life-saving injections and put her on oxygen support, and shifted her to YCM hospital in an ambulance. However, they lost her there at 2.15 pm," said Dr Vishwanath Sawant, senior medical officer who is in-charge of the Thergaon hospital.

A day prior to the incident, the girl had been administered the hepatitis B vaccine.
The girl's parents could not be immediately traced as the hospital records did not mention the full address.

Police case
Both state and civic officials have ordered an inquiry into the case, but seem inclined to accept the hospital version even before test reports can come in.

"A police case has been registered with the Hinjewadi police station and a preliminary report into the incident prepared by three experts has been sent to the higher authorities," said Dr R R Iyer, medical director, PCMC. "The initial report suggests the baby died of heart disease."

He added that the post-mortem had been conducted, but the opinion was yet pending. "The viscera has been preserved and sent for analysis; cause of death will be revealed in 10-15 days," said Iyer.

Inspectors have seized samples of the polio vaccine and sent it for tests."

"That particular batch has been stopped and no polio dose will be given until the report is received," he said.

Source: Mid Day: Make Work Fun, by Alifiya Khan, 10 May 2010.

VAN UK's Comment: This baby did have a heart condition but all manufacturer's data sheets say vaccines should only be given to healthy children, so we believe it is medical negligence to vaccinate a child with a heart condition.

Woman Dies of Fatal Vaccine Reaction after Flu Shot

The Procurator Fiscal’s office in Dundee, investigating the death of a woman following her devastating reaction to a flu jab, is seeking answers from the German pharmaceuticals company that made the vaccine (writes Bruce Robbins).
Depute fiscal Kirsty McGowan said the firm has been asked if it is aware of any other adverse reactions to the vaccine.

Dundee woman Sylvia Thomson suffered a fatal reaction to the injection in November last year and died a few weeks later, on December 2,.

The former PE teacher, who’d been bothered by an intermittent chest infection, asked her GP for the jab as a precaution. A week later, she was taken into hospital suffering from encephalitis — swelling in her brain.

Hospital officials have since admitted that other people may be predisposed to a similar reaction.

Mrs Thomson’s husband, Robert, has been pushing for a fatal inquiry into his 56-year-old wife’s death and is critical of the progress the fiscal’s department has made into the investigation.

However, Ms McGowan told the Evening Telegraph she would be taking the matter further if she didn’t hear back from the company in two to three weeks.

She added, “We have received a fax from one of the vaccine companies saying they have referred our inquiry back to the parent company in Germany. Solvay Pharm-aceuticals is German-owned and has a base in Holland. They have to provide us with a full answer and that couldn’t be done by the distributors in Britain.

“We’ve identified the batch numbers of the vaccine concerned and are waiting for a report from the company. We are looking for other adverse reactions to the vaccine and the company will have all those details.”

Ms McGowan rejected Mr Thomson’s claims the matter hadn’t been given a high enough priority and said she had updated him at the beginning of October.”

Mr Thomson said he believed the fiscal’s department had spent a lot of time speaking to Mrs Thomson’s GP and a doctor at Ninewells Hospital when they should have been on to the drugs company straight away.

“There must be a Government body that approved the vaccine for use in the UK and the fiscal could have contacted them straight away to find out what tests had been carried out on it before it was made available.

“There was a report out recently saying that it couldn’t be proved that ‘flu vaccines do any good. Here we are heading into the vaccination season and we still don’t know if this particular vaccine is going to stop people getting the ‘flu or end up killing others.”

Source: Evening Telegraph, 31 October 2006.

Two Babies Die After Vaccination

Two infants died and three others took ill today after being administered DPT and BCG vaccines at Gajole in Malda district.

"Three-month-old Najib Ansari and six-month-old Ruhan Reza of Sheikhpara village died after being administered vaccines for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and tuberculosis. They died of some other ailments they had been suffering," CMOH of Malda Dr Srikanta Roy told PTI.

The babies were administered the vaccines with 45 other children of the village yesterday and five of them fell sick which the villagers claimed was due to poor quality of vaccines.

"They did not die of poor vaccines because 45 other children who were given the same vaccines are healthy. If the vaccines were of bad quality then all children would have suffered," Dr Roy said.

The three other sick children have been admitted to Gajole Rural Hospital, he said.

Source: Press Trust of India, 14th May 2010.

VAN UK's Comment: Smoking kills but it doesn't kill everyone. Just because some were okay, doesn't mean the vaccines didn't kill.

3 Cuban Children Dead and Dozens Sick after Single Measles Vaccine

Three Cuban children have died and dozens more are ill after receiving a single measles vaccine manufactured in India.

The Cuban Health Ministry said a "rare accident" had occurred on 22 May after a group of schoolchildren were inoculated against the disease with apparently contaminated doses from India.

The vaccines were certified by the World Health Organisation and purchased through the Pan-American Health Organisation.

Source: BBC News, 31 May 2002.

Parents Demand Answers after Children Killed, Sickened by Vaccines

The parents of nine victims who allegedly had abnormal reactions to vaccine shots received in Shanxi, Shandong and Henan provinces met in front of the Ministry of Health in Beijing on Friday, demanding that the ministry investigate the incidents. The ministry has not yet responded.

"We want the ministry to find out exactly who is responsible for these dead and sick children," said Yi Wenlong, the father of 15-year-old Yi Lingling, who was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis after receiving the A and C groups of the meningitis vaccine at her school in Linfen, Shanxi Province in December 2006.

A report by the Beijing-based China Economic Times on March 17 revealed that improperly stored vaccines administered by the provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had killed four children and sickened more than 70 others who had been vaccinated between 2006 and 2008, citing Chen Tao'an, a whistle-blower who worked with the Shanxi CDC in 2007.

The parents also demanded the results of the medical testimonial given by the ministry at a press conference on April 6. One group of eight medical experts commissioned by the ministry concluded at that press conference that some diseases afflicting the victims are related to the vaccines, while others are not. No further details were disclosed.

The ministry dispatched eight medical experts from the Chinese Medical Association to Shanxi on March 26 and 27 to meet with some of the victims, including Yi's daughter. "They looked at my daughter. They didn't take any blood samples," Yi told the Global Times.

After that, Yi wrote to the ministry many times demanding a copy of the medical testimonial with signatures of the experts, but never received a reply.

After arriving on Monday, he met with other victims' families. "We will seek justice together," said Yi.

Source: Global Times, 28th June 2010.

Expired Measles Vaccine Kills Toddler

A toddler died allegedly after being administered expired measles vaccine at a private clinic in Gulberg Town on Thursday.

According to the child’s father, he took his one-and-a-half-year old son Abdullah to a private clinic near his residence in Yousuf Plaza, Block-16, Federal-B Area, for the routine measles vaccine.

However, his son developed high fever after returning home, and he was rushed to a hospital, but he died there during treatment.

The police reached the spot and immediately arrested a doctor named Qamar while two other doctors Ghani and Asad managed to escape.

The Sindh Health Department ordered immediate closure of the clinic and Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed constituted a three-member committee headed by special secretary Dr Abdul Majid to probe the incident and present a report within three days.

The father of child, Sarfaraz, is a taxi driver and has three other children. He alleged that the health department was responsible for the incident since it had provided an expired vaccine to the clinic.

However, an official of the health department rejected the allegation and said the child suffered a reaction and when the doctors tried to administer anti-reaction medicines to the child, the parents refused, causing the child’s death.

“The vaccine was not expired, as four more children were also vaccinated at the same clinic and even the brother of the toddler was vaccinated along with him, but the child suffered a severe reaction and when doctors tried to give him some anti-reaction medicines, the family refused,” said Gulberg Town Health Officer Dr Shahnaz.

She said the child was vaccinated at a private clinic named Al-Hamad Medical Centre located in Yousuf Plaza. When asked why the official vaccination campaign was arranged in a private clinic, she said that her department had selected several private clinics and hospitals for this purpose.

“We just selected clinics and hospitals as central points where parents could bring children for vaccination,” she said.

She said that her department has estimated 99,000 children under five years age in Gulberg town for routine vaccination. She said no such incident has occurred so far in which a child died due to vaccination.

“Around 10 children were vaccinated from the same vial, which means if there was something wrong with the vaccine, the nine other children should also have been affected, but no other case was reported,” she said.

When contacted, Health Executive District Officer Dr Shahab Imam refused to comment on the issue. “The provincial health minister has directed us not to speak to the media,” he said.

Source: Daily Times, 16th July 2010.