Ampouled death

MEASLES vaccine killed 3 infants at Debagram in Nadia district of West Bengal.
This was confirmed by members of the
inquiry committee which investigated
the incident.

However, the exact cause is yet to be
identified. Officials at the wHo and doctors elsewhere rule out the lethality of
the polio vaccine, which was initially
thought to be the culprit. But the blame
has been fixed on the measles vaccine.
Experts now feel that one of the
causes could be that the measles vaccine
could have been subjected to tempera tures not prescribed for it, thus breaking
the "cold chain". However, even in such
conditions the vaccine could have become ineffective, but not lethal.

The possibility that the vaccines
had become contaminated due to
human error has also been considered.
The use of unsterilised needles for
measles vaccination could have caused
foreign toxic substance to enter the
infants' system.

Local contamination is a possibility
which requires careful examination.
Doctors suggest a hairline crack on the
surface of the ampoule containing the
powdery measles vaccine or its dilutant
may be the entry route for germs and
chemicals. Contamination at the time of
manufacture is also not ruled out.

One measles vaccine ampoule is
used to immunise 7 children and the
reported deaths of 3 strongly suggest,
that particular ampoule was contaminated, and not the entire batch.
Therefore the chances of death due to
local contamination is the strongest.

On that fatef@l day many children,
clinging on to their mother's bosom,
had received the polio vaccine and some
in the age group of 9-11 months were
also immunised against measles. It is not
known how just 3 of them got the fatal
anti-measles drug.