Chinese boy dies after being given MMR vaccine - South China Morning Post

The authorities in central China are investigating the death of a boy who died a day after receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

The two-year-old, identified only by his surname Hu, received the MMR shot on Tuesday at a health centre in Kaifu district in Hunan province’s Changsha city.

The boy lost consciousness the following night and was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to revive the boy, Shanghai-based news portal Thepaper.cn reported.

The police are also advising the parents to release the body for a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death.

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The centre has been temporarily closed during the investigation.

The case follows China’s largest vaccine scandal involving nearly 500,000 substandard DPT vaccines, which inoculate children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, manufactured and sold by Chinese drug firm Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology.

The vaccines have not been linked to any deaths or illnesses.

The local authority said the vaccine the boy had been given was properly certified and had an expiry date in May next year, Thepaper reported.

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According to his medical report, the boy had a rare congenital lung malfunction called horseshoe lung which is associated with other lung and heart problems.

However, a health check before he was inoculated showed no abnormalities. All the medical staff involved had valid certification.

The boy had previously received vaccinations for hepatitis B, tuberculosis, polio and Hansen’s disease, according to the news portal, as well as a DPT jab.

China released a draft Vaccine Management Law earlier this month, which would allow people to sue drug makers for cases involving death or serious illness caused by negligence.

Following the Changchun Biotechnology vaccines scandal, mainland Chinese parents flocked to Hong Kong to inoculate their children.

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