3 infants die, 6 fall sick hours after vaccination in Jharkhand's Palamu

Palamu (Jharkhand): At least three infants died while six others fell sick after they were vaccinated at a government-run health centre in Jharkhand's Palamu district.

The parents had brought their children to an Anganwadi Centre in Loenga village for vaccination against Japanese encephalitis, measles and DPT. But hours after they were administered the dose by the village's Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), their health deteriorated.

The angry locals took hostage the village's Auxiliary Nurse Midwife.

Officials reached the village to probe the cause of the death.

"Matter is in initial stages, only after investigation we can ascertain the reason," investigation team doctor Anil Kumar Srivastava said.

Assuring strict action against those found guilty, MLA Radhakrishna Kishore said, "A team is probing the matter, if wrongdoings are found, action will be taken."

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each for families of the victims. "I have instructed the health secretary to investigate. Strict action will be taken against the guilty. We deeply sympathise with families," the Chief Minister said.

On Sunday, the children, aged between 18 months to a year, started throwing up, had high fever and loose motion. They were rushed to a Sadar Hospital in Palamu district where three of them died.

(With inputs from ANI)