85-day-old child dies hours after vaccination

The Hindu
Aug. 17, 2008

TIRUNELVELI: An 85-day old boy died hours after he received the second dose of oral polio vaccine and DPT vaccine at the Alangulam Primary Health Centre on Wednesday.

According to Anantharaj and Vasantha of Kidaarakulam, they took their son A.P. Selvam to the PHC, where the vaccine was administered at 11.30 a.m. as per the records. The boy, after being vaccinated, developed breathing trouble, and they took him to the PHC again. As per PHC records, the child was brought in at 1:40 p.m. frothing at the mouth. The PHC doctors referred the boy to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. He died in the evening.

Deputy Director (Health Services), Sankarankovil, Shanmugasundaram said though 54 other children were administered the DPT vaccine on Wednesday, only Selvam developed breathing trouble. Nine other children had received their shots from the same vial that was used on Selvam. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

Director of Public Health S. Elango said it was unlikely that death was caused due to vaccination, considering that no other child was affected. The post-mortem results would reveal the cause of death. Dr. Shanmugasundaram said he suspected that the baby was fed in a wrong position by the mother since milk was flowing from his nose even as he was rushed to the hospital. “Milk aspiration” could have caused the death.













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