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HEALTH-CHINA : Wave of Anger Rises Over Vaccine Scandal



 
 
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Old April 7th 10, 05:31 PM posted to misc.health.alternative,misc.kids.health
john[_5_]
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Default HEALTH-CHINA : Wave of Anger Rises Over Vaccine Scandal

HEALTH-CHINA : Wave of Anger Rises Over Vaccine Scandal

By Mitch Moxley

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50926

BEIJING, Apr 6, 2010 (IPS) - Shortly after Liu Yan's four-year-old son, Liu
Yi, was bitten by a dog, he did what any responsible parent would do: took
his child to the hospital for a vaccination. Two weeks later, after the
fourth injection, Liu Yi became violently ill.

The next morning, on Aug. 27, 2008, the boy was taken to First People's
Hospital in Yangquan city in central China's Shanxi province, where he was
diagnosed with viral meningitis. Liu Yi's condition quickly deteriorated and
he died later that afternoon.

Liu Yan blamed the rabies vaccination for his son's death, and according to
a searing media report last month, he might not be alone.

"My son was in good health before he got the rabies vaccine," Liu Yan told
IPS. "Nobody could clarify why my child got sick."

On Mar. 17, the Beijing-based 'China Economic Times', a business and finance
newspaper published by the state-run Development Research Centre, reported
on alleged irregularities and safety concerns within Shanxi's immunisation
programme.

The expose said that improperly stored vaccines administered by the
provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for encephalitis,
hepatitis B and rabies between 2006 and 2008 had killed four children and
made more than 70 others ill. People were exposed to the faulty vaccinations
as late as March 2009.

The six-part series, which took six months to compile and includes
interviews with families of 36 victims, has snowballed into a nationwide
scandal involving children's health. The 'Times' alleged that the vaccine
provider, Beijing-based Huawei Shidai Co, began charging citizens for
vaccines that should have been administered for free, and raised the price
of other vaccines.

The report also charges that Li Wenyuan, former Shanxi CDC director, used
more than half of the funds from Huawei's initial deposit to buy a new car
for his private use.

The scandal came to light after Chen Taoan, a former CDC information office
official, told 'China Economic Times' he had seen vaccines provided by
Huawei exposed to high temperatures before they were distributed across the
province. In one case, Chen saw boxes of vaccines left in a room with no air
conditioning while workers labelled them.

"I was shocked," Chen said in an interview with IPS. "It was so hot. The
vaccines should be stored in a freezer. How could they be exposed to high
temperatures for so long? It's very dangerous."

Chen said he initially filed a report to the Shanxi Provincial People's
Procuratorate in May 2007, which was ignored. He was removed from his post
and put on cleaning duties in early 2009.

Provincial authorities have denied that the vaccinations were unsafe.

On the day of the 'China Economic Times' story, state-run Xinhua news agency
quoted Li Shukai, the local deputy health director, as saying the
allegations were "basically untrue." (The next day, the 'Times' responded
with a published announcement on its website stating that the publication
"stands by all the facts written in the report.")

On Mar. 22, the provincial government maintained that the vaccines were
safe, but admitted that the provincial CDC and Huawei had violated rules.

The local government launched an investigation into the scandal, which was
assisted by a group sent by the Ministry of Health and experts from other
provinces. A week later, the Chinese Medical Association sent a team of
eight experts to Shanxi, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, the provincial food and
drug administration launched an inspection campaign on vaccine quality and
safety in late March.

Ju Xianhua, deputy secretary general of the Shanxi government, said at a
press conference that vaccines in the province were being "strictly
monitored and their quality is guaranteed." He said the province had sent
experts to examine the cases of all 15 children named in the news reports.

In response to the Shanxi scandal, the Ministry of Health issued notices
defending the quality and safety of vaccines manufactured in China. The
country's top health authority encouraged the public to follow the
vaccination programme, which it said was the best way to prevent the spread
of infectious diseases.

China has been hit by several vaccination scandals in recent weeks. Disease
control and prevention authorities in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong
province, found after an initial investigation that some children became ill
or paralysed after receiving an H1N1 flu vaccine. (Officials said a further
investigation was needed for a thorough assessment).

According to the Hong Kong-based 'Mingpao' magazine, one of Jiangsu province's
top vaccine producers, Jiangsu Yanshen Biological Stock Co Ltd, had produced
contaminated vaccines that over the years had sickened over one million
people. The company has halted production and seven top executives have been
arrested on charges of producing and selling fake vaccines.

In Shanxi, parents of six alleged victims travelled to Taiyuan, the
provincial capital, to demand an explanation from the local health bureau,
the 'Guangzhou Daily' reported. After a meeting with officials was denied,
some parents engaged in a brief confrontation with bureau staffers.

"I have not received any compensation," said Jia Haibo of Changzhi city,
whose three-year-old daughter, Jia Xiaonu, fell ill with a mysterious case
of necrotising fasciitis after receiving a vaccine for mumps in July 2008.
She recovered, but still struggles to use her left hand. "I can do nothing
but wait for the final results," the father said.

According to media reports, Chen and parents of some of the affected
children received threatening text messages in the days following the 'China
Economic Times' report. Some messages offered bribes of 50,000 to 100,000
renminbi (7,324 to 14,648 U.S. dollars) for keeping quiet.

Chen confirmed that he has received threats, but does not fear for his
safety. "I'm happy more and more people are starting to pay attention to
this problem." (END)


 




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