Rubella vaccination tragedy

Dulshani Gunawardena

Following the death of yet another schoolgirl from post Rubella vaccination, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the vaccines were of good quality.

A schoolgirl from Wariyapola died on October 12 at the Kurunegala Hospital, after being admitted following adverse reactions caused by the Rubella vaccination.

This is the second such fatal case, following the death of Peshala Hashini, a schoolgirl from Matara in March. The administration of the vaccine was temporarily suspended but recommenced in May under WHO guidance.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Minister de Silva stated the Rubella vaccination program has been carried out since 1996 to eliminate the Cognitive Rubella Syndrome, which leads to the birth of disabled children when the pregnant mother is affected.

The vaccination is imported from the Serum Institute of India. De Silva denied charges of the products being of low quality, stating that Serum is a WHO endorsed company and that all imports are done under the supervision of the Drug Evaluation Sub Committee, in accordance with WHO guidelines.

He emphasized that Serum was the only company worldwide manufacturing the vaccination, importing its products to many other countries including the UK, Malaysia and Pakistan. “However, it is interesting to note that only Sri Lanka has reported cases of such fatalities,” he said.

Minister de Silva noted that inquiries revealed that Peshala’s death occurred due to allergic reactions caused by the vaccination. In the aftermath, the Health Ministry had issued guidelines to be followed in future cases and distributed 300 trays of the required medications island-wide.

While expressing deep regret over the tragedy, de Silva stated that the cause of death was the non-adherence to the issued guidelines, rather than a defect in the vaccination itself. He assured that investigations are being carried out and that severe action will be taken against the guilty parties.