THE CONTROVERSIAL combined vaccine commonly known as DTP (Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis) has been blamed for the sudden death of a six-week-old infant at Windhoek’s Katutura Hospital, after the infant suffered brain damage and died less than 24 hours after his vaccination.

Zameer Moin Mohammad Chania (6 weeks old) died on January 9 after receiving polio 1 + DPTP 1 vaccination at Windhoek’s Robert Mugabe Clinic. A toxicological examination conducted at Rhino Park Hospital suggested toxicity due to contaminated or expired vaccines.
A prominent Windhoek Paediatrician consulted for comment on the possible effects of DTP on infants said that the pertussis component of DTP had not been linked to infant deaths before, but would not rule out other adverse side effects.
“I believe that it was very likely the vaccine that caused the excessive crying. Although rare, it is a known effect of the vaccine. However, afterwards, a number of factors were involved and one cannot single out only one of them as the cause of death,” he said.
The Ministry of Health has launched an investigation into the deaths. “We need to look at the batch numbers of the vaccines and see what really went wrong,” said Ministry of Health and Social Services Gladys Kambo. Kambo said ministry officials were monitoring some babies to observe side effects of the vaccine.
According to his mother Linda Mohammad Chania, Zameer received pink polio drops and an injection in the thigh at 11h00, and began crying uncontrollably for the entire day until 21h00, when he suddenly stopped breathing.
“I cannot understand, my happy baby kicking in the water in the morning dead by night,” said a heartbroken Chania. “Why do we only get this information (about possible toxicity of DTP) after the deaths of our children?”
Zameer was rushed to Katutura Hospital, where a certain Dr La Grange examined him and determined that he was well nourished and not chronically ill. Zameer then became irritable and unresponsive to stimulation, after which he suffered an episode of seizures.
Around 22h00, he stopped breathing, and nurses tried to resuscitate him with several doses of adrenalin, but his pulse remained low and fluctuating.
“The baby’s colour kept on changing and became paler, his pupils were not responding and he became very weak,” said Chania.
“Blood started rushing down his nose, and deep down I knew that it was close to the end.
“I kept telling the doctor that he was a healthy six-week-old baby until this morning, the more she tried to explain to me that his brain is damaged and he is not going to survive.”
Zameer died at 02h00 the following morning, after more than two hours of attempted resuscitation. His autopsy noted an adverse reaction to the DTP vaccine, but his mother found no solace in consulting Windhoek’s finest paediatricians and Government officials.
“How can it be possible that a vaccination supposed to save our children’s lives can kill my child? Other innocent babies are dying, and the medical board and Government do not want to stop. They must stop and I want justice,” said Chania.
The Ministry of Health has reportedly appointed Dr Norbet Forster to lead investigations into the recent deaths of infants, and establish the cause of adverse reactions to DTP vaccinations. Dr Foster is currently consulting with principals in primary healthcare.
Medical authorities have banned DTP in Japan and replaced it with DTaP in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and several other developed countries. The impediment for most developing countries has been the cost of getting the more secure accelular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. The United States government, after decades of protest against the use of the problematic DTP, approved DTaP as a replacement for the DTP combination vaccine. According to the US Food and Drug Administration, researchers in the US and Europe found that DTP was the most likely of any vaccine to cause reactions, seizures, redness of the skin and high pitched crying in infants after vaccination.
In most developed countries, DTP has been replaced with the more effective but higher priced (DTaP) vaccine and parents have been advised to ensure that children receive DTaP rather than DTP, which has been shown to have side effects that are more adverse.
In Windhoek, three other babies are said to have died on January 9 after receiving similar DTP polio vaccinations at Katutura Hospital, with several similar deaths also reported in the North.
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