Claims of child deaths, illness after injections
By Jane Chen |
March 18, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWO babies and two toddlers in a north China province have died and another 76 are seriously ill after being vaccinated against hepatitis B, rabies and Type-B encephalitis, according to a former health official.
The vaccines may have been tainted by poor storage and some shots were given in the wrong season, Chen Tao'an, a former official with the Shanxi Province Disease Prevention and Control Center told yesterday's China Economic Times.
Chen said complaints to Shanxi health authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
The four fatalities were 9-month-old Wang Xiao'er and 8-month-old Liu Ziyang from Luliang City and Wang Shichao and Liu Yi from Yangquan City, both 3.
They all received vaccines between 2007 and 2009 before developing serious illnesses which local hospitals failed to diagnose correctly, the newspaper said.
Children aged from 2 to 17 from another 74 families in Shanxi were crippled or fell seriously ill after being vaccinated, the newspaper said.
Some developed Type-B encephalitis and viral encephalitis after being vaccinated against these very conditions.
Others were infected with encephalomyelitis, a disease that could stem from unhygienic or out-of-date jabs, according to an assessment report published on February 22 last year by medical experts in the province's Yuncheng City.
The vaccines in question, which should have been refrigerated, were kept in a non-air-conditioned building and may have been incorrectly labeled, said Chen.
Tian Jianguo, in charge of vaccination supply and management, developed a labeling system to monopolize the procaine market, he said.
Chen also said self-interested center authorities encouraged local people to get vaccinated against Type-B encephalitis, a disease spread by mosquitoes, in the autumn of 2006 - the wrong season for the insects.
Chen said he had reported these problems 30 times to the province's health bureau in the past three years but all in vain.
However, an official with Shanxi's health bureau said late last night that an agency appointed by the state food and drug watchdog tested samples of the stored vaccine which all complied with national standards and no adverse reactions had been reported.
Li Gui, head of the bureau's disease control and prevention section, told Xinhua news agency that a group appointed by the Ministry of Health carried out investigations in November 2008. These samples were also safe, Li said.
The vaccines may have been tainted by poor storage and some shots were given in the wrong season, Chen Tao'an, a former official with the Shanxi Province Disease Prevention and Control Center told yesterday's China Economic Times.
Chen said complaints to Shanxi health authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
The four fatalities were 9-month-old Wang Xiao'er and 8-month-old Liu Ziyang from Luliang City and Wang Shichao and Liu Yi from Yangquan City, both 3.
They all received vaccines between 2007 and 2009 before developing serious illnesses which local hospitals failed to diagnose correctly, the newspaper said.
Children aged from 2 to 17 from another 74 families in Shanxi were crippled or fell seriously ill after being vaccinated, the newspaper said.
Some developed Type-B encephalitis and viral encephalitis after being vaccinated against these very conditions.
Others were infected with encephalomyelitis, a disease that could stem from unhygienic or out-of-date jabs, according to an assessment report published on February 22 last year by medical experts in the province's Yuncheng City.
The vaccines in question, which should have been refrigerated, were kept in a non-air-conditioned building and may have been incorrectly labeled, said Chen.
Tian Jianguo, in charge of vaccination supply and management, developed a labeling system to monopolize the procaine market, he said.
Chen also said self-interested center authorities encouraged local people to get vaccinated against Type-B encephalitis, a disease spread by mosquitoes, in the autumn of 2006 - the wrong season for the insects.
Chen said he had reported these problems 30 times to the province's health bureau in the past three years but all in vain.
However, an official with Shanxi's health bureau said late last night that an agency appointed by the state food and drug watchdog tested samples of the stored vaccine which all complied with national standards and no adverse reactions had been reported.
Li Gui, head of the bureau's disease control and prevention section, told Xinhua news agency that a group appointed by the Ministry of Health carried out investigations in November 2008. These samples were also safe, Li said.
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