Skip to main contentAccess keys help

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
News image
Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 January, 2005, 09:07 GMT
Vaccine 'not faulty' says trust
Bronglais Hospital
The pupils were all taken to Bronglais Hospital
A batch of the BCG vaccine that led to school pupils in Aberystwyth being taken to hospital was not faulty.

Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust said its findings had been confirmed by the Department of Health.

Thirteen students from Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig were treated in hospital after they were vaccinated in November.

Dominic Hamer, 13, suffered an anaphylactic shock - a sudden serious physical reaction caused by an allergy.

The trust said this occured in one in a million receiving the vaccination, which combats tuberculosis.

Another 12 students were treated at Aberystwyth's Bronglais Hospital with two kept in overnight.

It's a bit alarming that so many people were affected by BCG at the same time
Paul Hamer

In a letter to parents at Penweddig, the NHS trust's chief executive Allison Williams concluded that the children "experienced severe but 'normal' side effects to the BCG vaccination."

She added that there was "no suggestion" of any fault in the storage, transport or administration of the vaccination.

She said: "Further to your child attending Bronglais hospital following BCG vaccination, the trust has undertaken a full investigation and I would like to take this opportunity to share with you our findings.

"As you know, 13 children (of the 118 vaccinated) attended the hospital with varying degrees of symptoms.

"One individual had a confirmed anaphylactic reaction which is reported to occur in approximately one in a million people receiving the vaccination.

"The other children were not considered to have experienced anaphylaxis and the results of the tests we performed in hospital confirmed that."

Summarising the investigation's findings, Ms Williams added seven children reported symptoms before Dominic suffered an anaphylactic shock.

She said the trust did not accept that it was an "anxiety reaction" in response to what happened to their friend.

Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig, Aberystwyth
Dominic is a pupil at Ysgol Penweddig

"The symptoms experienced are consistent with those reported as 'normal' side effects to BCG immunisation (dizziness, nausea, rash, feeling of being cold, shivering and breathing difficulties)," said Ms Williams

"There is no evidence to indicate any fault with the batch and this has been confirmed with the Department of Health.

"There is no suggestion of any fault in the storage, transport or administration of the vaccination.

"By process of elimination, the only conclusion we are able to come to is that the children experienced severe but 'normal' side effects to the BCG vaccination."

Dominic Hamer, from Bow Street, near Aberystwyth, returned to school eight days after his ordeal.

His father Paul said: "The trust admits that there wasn't mass hysteria by students and that the problems the students had were normal.

"But it's a bit alarming that so many people were affected by BCG at the same time at the same place.

"There's been an investigation and that's it until something happens again."

Dominic spent a night in intensive care before being transferred to a general ward.

Following his severe reaction to BCG, the then Welsh Health Minister Jane Hutt said there were no grounds for suspecting any fault with the BCG vaccine.


SEE ALSO:


RELATED BBC LINKS:

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia
UK | Business | Entertainment | Science/Nature | Technology | Health
Have Your Say | In Pictures | Week at a Glance | Country Profiles | In Depth | Programmes
AmericasAfricaEuropeMiddle EastSouth AsiaAsia Pacific