cheka.
17th March 2016, 09:36 AM
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/yangon/19497-babies-struggling-after-vaccines.html
More than 20 newborns remain hospitalised in intensive care units but appear to be improving nearly two weeks after showing signs of blood poisoning following a hepatitis B vaccine.
Health officials are still struggling to determine and explain what led to the severe reactions and the deaths of three newborns at Bago Region General Hospital. But parents of seven infants medevacked to Yankin Children’s Hospital in Yangon are convinced of the culprit that has their sons and daughters struggling for life.
“It was the vaccine. What else could it be?” said Ko Aung Soe.
“I feel hopeless,” Ko Aung Soe Myint said. “So far, no doctor has even explained why my daughter is sick.”
At first, Ko Aung Soe Myint thought his daughter was the only one affected with seizures and difficulty breathing. She was born in the morning on March 7. Around noon a nurse came to administer a hepatitis B vaccine. Within four hours something appeared to have gone wrong.
“Her skin colour started turning blue. Doctors came and they took her to a special ward. They wouldn’t say why,” he said. He added that he had not seen his daughter receive any other medication or injections.
“In the evening, other babies in a similar condition arrived at the special treatment ward. After midnight the doctors called all the parents, and said, ‘your children are not well.’ But they didn’t explain what was happening,” he said.
In all, between March 4 and March 7, some 28 newborns were given the hepatitis B vaccine at Bago Hospital, according to the Ministry of Health. By March 7, two had died, and 14 were receiving emergency care.
“It’s very hard to watch your baby struggle to survive,” said another father.
Hepatitis B vaccines are a routine procedure. In many countries it is recommended, if not required, to administer the vaccine within 12 hours of birth, especially if the mother’s hepatitis B status is unknown.
More than 20 newborns remain hospitalised in intensive care units but appear to be improving nearly two weeks after showing signs of blood poisoning following a hepatitis B vaccine.
Health officials are still struggling to determine and explain what led to the severe reactions and the deaths of three newborns at Bago Region General Hospital. But parents of seven infants medevacked to Yankin Children’s Hospital in Yangon are convinced of the culprit that has their sons and daughters struggling for life.
“It was the vaccine. What else could it be?” said Ko Aung Soe.
“I feel hopeless,” Ko Aung Soe Myint said. “So far, no doctor has even explained why my daughter is sick.”
At first, Ko Aung Soe Myint thought his daughter was the only one affected with seizures and difficulty breathing. She was born in the morning on March 7. Around noon a nurse came to administer a hepatitis B vaccine. Within four hours something appeared to have gone wrong.
“Her skin colour started turning blue. Doctors came and they took her to a special ward. They wouldn’t say why,” he said. He added that he had not seen his daughter receive any other medication or injections.
“In the evening, other babies in a similar condition arrived at the special treatment ward. After midnight the doctors called all the parents, and said, ‘your children are not well.’ But they didn’t explain what was happening,” he said.
In all, between March 4 and March 7, some 28 newborns were given the hepatitis B vaccine at Bago Hospital, according to the Ministry of Health. By March 7, two had died, and 14 were receiving emergency care.
“It’s very hard to watch your baby struggle to survive,” said another father.
Hepatitis B vaccines are a routine procedure. In many countries it is recommended, if not required, to administer the vaccine within 12 hours of birth, especially if the mother’s hepatitis B status is unknown.