12 CHILDREN DEAD

Evening Star, Issue 19777, 30 January 1928, Page 5

12 CHILDREN DEAD

OTHERS SERIOUSLY ILL SEQUEL TO INOCULATION Press Association—By Telegraph-Copyright. BRISBANE, January 29. Following inoculation under, the Government scheme to provide immunisation against diphtheria, eleven children died and six others are in hospital at Bundaberg in a serious condition. The serum was supplied by the Federal Health Department, and the inoculations were carried out in the City Council Chambers. The first two batches were treated successfully, but later the children became ill, and were rushed to the hospital, where they died. Six others are not expected to recover. The ages of the dead range from fifteen months to six years. The Government has ordered a post mortem examination in each case.

MYSTERIOUS HAPPENING

PROMPT MEDICAL ACTION

BRISBANE, January 30. (Received January 30, at 11 a.m.) The death roll of the children at Bundaberg as the result of inoculation is now twelve. The Government Pathologist and other medical experts are proceeding to Bundaberg from Brisbane in a special train. Two batches of children were successfully inoculated, and a third batch was dealt with on Friday. The victims showed no ill effects till Friday night, when they were seized with violent attacks of vomiting and diarrhoea. The parents were not really concerned, thinking the illnes was merely the customary result of inoculation. The attacks continued throughout the mght. In the morning Dr Thompson was summoned to the home of one of the children. Ho found the child dangerously ill, and ordered its immediate removal to hospital, and, realising that something was amiss, he rallied the other medical officers of the city, and sent them to attend to the other children.

Ambulances were called out, and they spent the rest of the morning in hurrying patients off to the hospital, where everything had been prepared for their reception.

The doctors left nothing to chance, Even those children who showed no ill effects were removed to the hospital for observation.

Dr Elkington (Director of Tropical Hygiene in the Commonwealth Health Depr-tment) said that the action of anti-toxin in the case of the affected children was utterly abnormal. He said that no similar instance, so far as he was aware, had been recorded anywhere, despite the use of the method on many hundreds and thousands of cases in all parts of the world. The outstanding fact, Dr Elkington continued, had been that a number of children had been inoculated between January 17 and 24 without suffering any ill effects, and that only those who were inoculated on the 27th from the same batch of material became ill. Some of these had already received one injection of it, but they only became ill after the second injection. Others became very ill soon after their first injection. This indicated clearly enough that the material as received contained no harmful agency, and did not contain any for at least a week after it was received at Bundaberg. Arrangements had been made for the recall of .the particular batch from which the sufferers were inoculated and to discontinue the issue of auti-toxin material for the present pending full investigation.

THE DEATH ROLL

BRISBANE, January 30. (Received January 30, at noon.) The names of the dead are:— Thomas Robinson, aped five. William Robinson, four. Mervyn Robinson, two. Keith Baker, three. Edward Baker, live. George Baker, two. Monica Sheppard, two. Mary Sheppard, five. Joan P.etorson, five. Myrtle Brennan, three. Two infants named Coatc and Folletl.

Those who are in a serious condition are Betty Peterson, Brenda Drew, John Sheppard, William Sheppard, and Ernest Docket.