Investigations open into vaccinated children’s deaths

Five committees will look into the deaths of two children in two districts amid ongoing ‘biggest-ever’ immunisation campaign against deadly diseases –measles and rubella.

Correspondents say the children had been suffering breathing difficulties and died hours after the combined jab on Monday.

The Prime Minister, health minister, and child experts earlier assured people of the vaccine’s safety before the three-week campaign began from schools on Jan 25 to immunise 52 million children aged between nine months and 15 years.

The drive will start at the community level from Feb 1.

bdnews24.com’s Jhenidah correspondent said 13 years old Ariful Islam Masum of Harinakundu Upazilla died two and a half hours after he took the vaccine.

Son of Mokaddes Ali, he was a class six student at Vaina High School.

File Photo

More than 400 students of the school took the jab. Locals said later Masum played with his friends.

Two hours later when he fell sick he was rushed to the Harinakundu Hospital where he died at about 3pm.

District Civil Surgeon Nasrin Sultana quoting his father told bdnews24.com he was suffering from asthma.

She said three investigation committees including a high-level committee from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will try to find out what caused the deaths.

The district committee comprises senior doctors while another has been formed at the Upazilla level.

The family took the body after post-mortem, she said.

bdnews24.com Gazipur Correspondent said Afroza, 12, died hours after taking the jab.

Daughter of Abdul Wahed of Mendipur village in Prohadpur Union, Afroza was a class six student of Protappur High School.

The District Civil Surgeon’s Office and Sripur Upazilla Health and Family Planning Department formed two separate committees.

Her cousin Sanjida Akhter was beside her when she took the jab.

She told bdnews24.com that Afroza felt unwell minutes after taking the vaccine. She was shivering and sat down at the school’s corridor.

As her condition deteriorated, the family members were called in.

Her uncle Abdul Majid told bdnews24.com that they rushed her to the Sadar Hospital from school where emergency doctor declared her dead.

Sripur Upazilla Health and Family Planning Officer Sheikh Mohammad Hasan Imam said she had a kind of ‘breathing difficulties’.

“But to find out reasons, we formed six-member investigation committees,” he said.

Gazipur Civil Surgeon Shah Alam Sharif said he also formed a separate five-strong committee.

Child specialists and Gazipur Medical College Principal Subash Chandra Saha are also the members of the committee.

Measles and rubella, the two highly contagious viral infections, have almost similar symptoms – rashes and fever. But rubella can cause birth defects.

Infants born to mothers who contract rubella in the early stages of pregnancy are prone to being born with heart defects, hearing and vision impairment and mental retardation.

The government’s EPI said once immunised, the vaccine gives life-long protection against these deadly diseases.