Andhra Pradesh: Infant dies after polio vaccine

Visakhapatnam: Routhu Dharani, a five-month-old baby girl, died on Sunday; the parents allege the death was due to the polio drops the baby was given in Puspatipalem village in Pusapatirega mandal, Vizianagaram district.

The child’s parents, R. Getlayya and Swati, say that after getting the polio drops they returned home at about 10 am. The baby began vomiting and choking. She was treated at the public health centre and then referred to the community health centre in Bhogapuram. The doctors there declared her brought dead.

Baby was well, says mother
The mother, Swati, said her baby was well before she was given the polio drops and has demanded a thorough inquiry.

“Dharani was an otherwise healthy kid with no health complications. I breastfed her after we returned home from the polio drops booth and she started choking immediately. Within an hour, she died,” said Swati.

District medical and health officer C. Padmaja said 88 children were administered polio drops at the booth. “We learnt that the baby was breastfed immediately after getting the drops. We have a doubt that aspiration could have led to the death of the child. Aspiration occurs when secretions, solid food or liquids ‘go down the wrong pipe’ and enter the airway and lungs. In this case, the milk could have been the culprit. The milk entering the lungs or the airway may have led to her death,” she said.