Baby dies after being given polio drops

The death of a two-month-old baby hours after administering polio drops created tension at Ane Kannambadi village in Holenarasipur taluk on Sunday. While parents of the baby blame the vaccination as cause of death, the doctors say the death occurred due to other reasons. The baby was vaccinated at around 9 a.m. in a camp set up by the Department of Health and Family Welfare as part of the polio campaign. She was fed milk at home. Her parents found her dead at noon. The residents of the village gathered at the polio camp andalleged that the baby had died of the vaccination. R. Venkatesh, District Health Officer; H.L. Janardana, Reproduction and Child Health officer; and others visited the camp soon after they learnt about the incident. R. Venkatesh, District Health Officer, told The Hindu, “There is no chance of death due to vaccination. Around 145 children have been vaccinated in the village and nobody had a problem. I suspect it to be a case of aspiration of milk, where respiration of the baby is affected following feeding of milk. Anyhow, I have suggested the parents go for a post-mortem to learn the reason for the death.”