Three babies in Karnataka's Belagavi district died after a nurse administered them with the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine kept in a hotel fridge along with other food items, the probe revealed.
The probe has revealed that the nurse had obtained the vaccination vials one day earlier from the pharmacist and had kept them in a hotel fridge along with food items, violating all protocols, reported news agency IANS. This led to bacterial infection and after the administration of these vaccines the three babies died due to 'aseptic shock syndrome', the report added.
Two deaths were reported after being vaccinated at Bochagala camp on January 12 while one death was reported from Mallapura camp on January 11. As many as 17 babies were vaccinated at Bochagala and four babies had received shots at Mallapura in Ramdurg taluk. Two girls, one 18-month-old and the other 12-month-old are recovering in hospitals.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar said responsible officers will be suspended.
"I received the report claiming cause of death to be septic shock syndrome but I want to know if there's a failure in cold chain management of vaccine storage & handling," the Health Minister told news agency ANI.
"The responsible officers will be suspended pending a departmental enquiry. We are investigating if there was a problem in the formulation of the vaccine as well. An emergency meeting has been called tomorrow to discuss this issue," he added.
Dr Eshwar Gadad, District Immunization Officer of Belagavi, stated that as per the protocol the vaccination vials have to be taken from the primary health centre (PHC) to the vaccination camps and they should be returned to the PHC. "The nurse should not have carried them and kept them in a hotel fridge. All vials obtained by her have been taken back and sent for tests. This is an unfortunate incident. The department has taken care of it and parents can come forward for vaccination of their babies," he said.
(With IANS inputs)
