Report attributes death of infants to human error at Tiruvallur PHC THE measles vaccine administered to children in Tamil Nadu has been given a clean chit by the Central Drugs Laboratory at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh. In its report submitted to the Union Health Ministry, the lab suggested that human error at the local level could have resulted in the death of four infants last month at Tiruvallur district. Samples of the vaccine had been sent to the lab following the death of children who had developed complications after receiving the vaccine shot.

Tamil Nadu enjoys the top slot among the Indian states in providing healthcare. It has a 95 per cent immunisation coverage. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has certified it as a tetanus free state for neonates. No polio case has been reported here in the last four years. Also, there has been no incidence of diphtheria and whooping cough in the state. Yet, it was here that a vaccine

Measles outbreaks in several states have led to more than 70 cases so far this year, the worst in six years, health officials said Thursday. Most of the cases have been traced to outbreaks overseas and are mainly in children who were not vaccinated for religious or other reasons, according to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention. Since measles vaccinations began in the early 1960s, cases have dramatically declined in the U.S.

Rule Out Fault In Cold Chain System All four children who died after being administered the measles vaccine in Tamil Nadu on April 23 suffered severe brain haemorrhage resulting from an anaphylactic shock, an inquiry has found.

A new set of procedures to administer vaccines to children will be tried in the State, following the death of four infants in Tiruvallur district after measles vaccination. Vaccination The Directorate of Public Health (DPH) is contemplating a model wherein children in a particular district would be brought to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in their block for vaccination instead of carrying the vaccine to village health centres.

In the wake of the casualties of children reported from Tiruvalluvar district of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan Government on Friday suspended the administration of measles vaccine in Jodhpur division of the State. The vaccine stocks, which reached there three days back, belong to the same source as of the Tamil Nadu, where it had resulted in four deaths.

Four 10-month-old babies died within minutes of being administered an antimeasles vaccine at two medical camps in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvallur district on Wednesday. Three girls died at a centre in Pennalurpettai village, about 75km from Chennai. The fourth, a baby boy, died after getting the shot in Venkatapuram village near Tiruttani, 35km from Thiruvallur. In a knee-jerk reaction, the state administration suspended two public health nurses as well as the measles immunization programme across the state.

Four children died in southern India after getting measles vaccinations at state-run clinics and the state has suspended use of the vaccine, health officials said Thursday. It was not yet clear exactly what caused the deaths, said Tamil Nadu state's director of public health, P Padmanabhan. Vaccine samples have been sent to a government-run laboratory for investigations, he said.

The sudden death of four children after they were administered measles vaccine in primary health centres in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district is a grievous tragedy. That the deaths should occur in a State with a better record of health services delivery at the primary level is ironical. The involvement of the vaccine belonging to the same batch in different health centres seems to indicate problems with quality, which could have occurred at the point of manufacture, d uring transfer or storage.

The Centre has recalled the measles vaccine, after the administration of which four children died in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvallur district on Wednesday. Instructions have been issued to the States to stop the use of this vaccine until further orders, while the manufacturer has been asked to not to make any further supply, Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told journalists here on Thursday. An experts committee would enquire into the causes of the death and submit its report within two weeks. Thereafter action would be taken, he said.