Three infants dead, six critical after DPT vaccine in Jharkhand village

Jharkhand : Three infants died and six were admitted to a hospital, a day after they were given DPT vaccine at a village in Palamau district of Jharkhand state, a senior health official said.

On Saturday, the infants between the age group 1year and 18 month were administrated with DPT vaccine at an Anganwadi centre at Loinga village and three of them died during treatment, managing civil surgeon Dr T Vijay Kumar said.

Trained nurses had administered the DPT vaccine to the children after which they had suffered from fever and loose motion, he said. It is likely that there was reaction to the DPT vaccination administered.

Talking about the issue, Anil Kumar, an official from the district said, "The matter is under initial stages of investigation."

Also, MLA Radhakrishna Kishore assured strict action will be taken against the accused. He said, "A team is probing the matter, if wrongdoings are found, action will be taken."

In the meantime, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced a compensation package of Rs 1 lakh for families of dead infants. He also ordered an inquiry into the matter 

Talking to ANI, the chief minister said, "I have instructed the health secretary to visit the spot and identify lapses, and strict action will be taken as per the report. Rs1 lakh compensation will be given to each family, though money can’t compensate the loss. We deeply sympathise with families.

As of now, an investigation team from Ranchi has been called in to conduct the probe regarding the issue, reports Hindustan Times

The family members of the dead infants told HT that the condition of three children had deteriorated so fast that nothing could be done to save their lives.

The incident has left the family members, along with residents of the village to block roads in protest for more than three hours on Sunday. The villagers also temporarily detained the village’s chief midwife, blaming her for the unfortunate incident.