TWELVE CHILDREN DEAD.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 17869, 31 January 1928, Page 9

TWELVE CHILDREN DEAD.

Inoculation Ends Fatally. MEDICAL AUTHORITIES PUZZLED. •By Cable—Prsss Association —Oopyrl*bt. Australian, and N.Z. Cabla Association. BRISBANE, January 29. Following inoculation under the Government scheme to provide immumsation against diphtheria twelve children, died and six others were sent to hospital at Bundaberg in a serious condition. Tho serum was supplied by the Federal Health Department and the inoculations carried ont at the City Council Chambers. , The first two hatches were treated successfully, hut children in later batches beqame ill and were rushed to hospital, wheT© eleven died. Six others are not expected to recover. The ages of the dead ranee from fifteen months to six years. The Govern ment (has ordered individual post mortems.

VICTIMS RUSHED TO HOSPITALS. DOCTORS’ DESPERATE FIGHt. By Cabl. —Press Association —Copyright, end N.Z. Cable Association. BRISBANE, January 30. The detath roll of children at Bundated as a result of inooulation is now twelve.) Tlie Government Pathologist and other medical experts are proceeding .to Bundaberg from Brisbane in a special train. Two hatches of children were successfully inoculated. The third 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 illness merely the customary result of inoculation.

The attacks continued throughout the night. In the morning Dr Thompson was summoned to the home of one of the children, and found the child dangerously ill. He ordered its immediate removal to hospital, a#d on realising that something was amiss rallied the other medical officers of the city and sent them to attend to the other children.

Ambulances were called out, and spent the rest of the morning hurrying the patients off to 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 hospital for observation. Official Statement. Dr. Elkington, Director of Tropical Hygiene, in the Commonwealth Health Department, said the action of the toxin-antitoxin in the case of affected children was utterly abnormal. He says no similar instance as far as he is aware has been recorded anywhere despite the use of this method in many hundreds of thousands of cases in all parts of thd ’world.

The outstanding fact which appeared so far, Dr Elkington continued, had been that a a,umber of children had been inoo»A Detween January 17 and 24 without suffering any ill effects, and that only those who were inoculated on January 27 from the same batch of material became ill. Some of those had already received one injection of it, but only became ill after the second injection. Others became very ill soon after their first injection. This indicated clearly enough tinat 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 have been made for the recall of the particular batch, from which the sufferers were inoculated, and to discontinue < the issue of antitoxin material for the) present pending a full investigation.

The Death,, Roll. The names of the dead in the Bundaberg tragedy are;—. Thomas Robinson (aged five), William Robinson (4). Mervyn Robinson (2), Keith Baker (3). Edward Baker (5), George Baker (2). Monica Sheppard (21. Mary Sheppard (5). Joan Peterson (5). Myrtle Brennan (3). The babies Coatei and Follett. 'those in a serious condition are;— Betty Peterson, Brenda Drew, John Sheppard, William Sheppard and Ernest Docket. NO FURTHER DEATHS ANTICIPATED. FEDERAL AUTHORITIES CONFER. By Cable—Press Association —Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received January 30, 10.15 p.m.) BRISBANE, January 30. Every hope is now held out for tho recovery of the remaining serum victims at Bundaberg. They are not yet out of danger, but no serious developments are expected, unless unforeseen complications arise. A conference of the Federal Health Department, under the chairmanship of the Minister (Sir Neville Howso; was held at Melbourne, at which Dr. Cumpston (Federal General of Health and Director of Commonwealth Serum Laboratories), was present, considered the Bundaberg tragedy. Medical Officers Puzzled. Sir Neville Howse stated that it was extremely, difficult to understand how the process which was used to treat manv hundreds of thousands of children all over the world, and many thousands in the Commonwealth without any sign of ill effect, could he attended by such tragic results. He added i.lmt preliminary inquiries made it clear the toxin anti-toxin mixture issued by the Department was of good

quality, and free from any dangerous attributes. Tho inoculation of certain children at Bundaberg from tho bottle if self, without any harm, showed that after its arrival at Bundaberg, it was still in the same condition. It was clear that something had happened between the first and last inoculations. Everything would be done by the authorities to determine what acually happened. Menace of Diphtheria. Dr. Earle Page has loft for Bundaberg to investigate the position. In a statement, Dr. Page said that of every 135,000 children born in Australia yearly, 500 died of diphtheria before reaching school age, and though the methods of sanitation and administration of anti-toxin had improved enormously in tho last twenty years, and enabled thousands of cases to be saved, which previously would have died, the number of deaths from diphtheria at present was practically ns great per thousand as it had ever been, general treatment having failed to arrest the disease. Attempts had been mndo to secure the immunity of the individual by injecting a mixture of toxins and anti-toxins.