CUDDALORE: A three-month-old infant died after receiving a vaccination near Cuddalore on Tuesday night. Thokanampakkam police said, N Krisharaj (31), a farmer from AK Palayam, and his wife K Gandhi, gave birth to a male child, K Dashwidhraj, three months ago.
After giving birth, Gandhi stayed at her father’s house in Azhagiyanatham. On Tuesday afternoon, she had taken the child to Kalaiyur PHC for vaccination. Later, at night, the child experienced bloating and cried continuously, prompting the parents to take the child to the government general hospital in Cuddalore, they said. However, doctors declared the child dead on arrival, police said.
Based on Krishnaraj’s complaint, expressing doubts regarding the vaccination, police have filed a case and further probe is on.
Meanwhile, a team of health department officials, led by Dr R Meera, deputy director of health services, Cuddalore, inspected the medicines administered to the infant. She said the parents had administered gripe water and applied vasambu (sweet flag) on the abdominal area before bringing the child to the hospital.
She added that the pentavalent vaccine is administered through injection and the rotavirus vaccine is administered orally. “The same medicine was given to five other children, but none of them have reported any adverse effects. Therefore, vaccination is not the cause of death here. We are awaiting the autopsy report to determine the exact cause,” the doctor added.
Police officials investigating the incident have also confirmed that there is no evidence as of now linking the vaccination to the infant’s death. “Only after the autopsy can we exactly know the cause,” they said.