Baby Dies After DPT Vaccine

A two-month-old baby boy died within 10 hours of being administered a shot of DPT vaccine at a medical camp in Srikakulam district on Wednesday.

The boy, Savara Praveen, died at his home in Savara Jhoudupally of the Maoist-infested Meliaput mandal, about 175 km from the district headquarters, on the Orissa border. The infant was among 15 others who were given a DPT shot on Wednesday morning. But sources said the boy was given hepatitis-B vaccine along with the DPT shot.

Family members said Praveen started frothing at the mouth, turned blue and died around 5.30 pm. Sources said Praveen, who was born on June 2, was administered the vaccination by a health worker of Asha. The boy's parents -- Savara Janu and Annapoorna -- are farm labourers belonging to the tribal community.

The child was doing well for the first few hours after the vaccination, but cried a lot in the afternoon, and by evening, he died. What worsened the matter was that there was no provision to take the baby boy to a nearby hospital. "We did not plan for an ambulance or medical support," a health official said, adding that it was supposed to be a routine programme of immunisation where nearly 10,000 kids were given the DPT shots.

Source: India Today, August 2008.

Editor's Comment: That is medical malpractice because facilities should always be present to cope with emergencies after vaccination, for instance, adrenaline. Even though many children have no noticeable affects, doctors know vaccines can kill

So to vaccinate knowing that they can't get children to the hospital is in my opinion, criminal.