Baby dies after DPT vaccine shot in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - A five-month baby died allegedly after being administered a shot of vaccine by government medical staff in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahamaya Nagar district, officials said Thursday.

Health authorities have suspended an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) and ordered a probe into the matter.

Deepak and nine other babies in Barmai village of Sadabad town were administered a shot of the diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus (DPT) vaccine Wednesday.

Deepak died on way to hospital Thursday. According to his family, his condition started deteriorating within hours of the DPT shot.

“As of now, it is difficult to ascertain whether the DPT vaccine was the cause of the death. We have sent the baby’s body for post-mortem examination,” Chief Medical Officer Divya Ram Vyas told reporters in Mahamaya Nagar.

“The remaining nine babies who were administered DPT vaccine along with him are fine,” he added. Mahamaya Nagar is some 300 km from Lucknow.

“An enquiry has been ordered in the case, while ANM Sashi Sharma has been suspended with immediate effect as she failed to do the regular follow-up that is required after vaccination,” he added.