Following the reports of a child's death caused due to polio drops, the Karnataka drugs control department is in the process of sending the samples of the vaccine to the test lab of Kausuli in Himachal Pradesh for further analysis.
The vaccine was manufactured by Bharat Biotech. The vaccination was part of the National Polio immunization programme which was held on December 21 in the southern states. The report of the test carried out on the sample will be generated within three weeks.
The news about the death of a child after the polio vaccine administration saw panicked parents throng hospitals in the State. The State government has now stated that it was only a rumour and there had been no adverse effect on children given the polio drops.
According to P N Sreenevasachary, commissioner for Karnataka Health and Family Welfare the reports of a child's death in Tamil Nadu had created the panic but it was all reports and there was no such incident.
Sreenevasachary said nearly 6.1 million children in Karnataka were given the vaccine on December 21. "The programme has been on for 13 years and Karnataka has not had a single polio case for the past three years. However, rumours like this would set back the national mission aimed at eradicating the disease from the country," he added.
Medical heads at the hospitals in Karnataka had a harrowing time because hundreds of parents rushed their children to the medical centres which administered the vaccine.
"Many hospitals in Bangalore, Mysore and Kolar were forced to call on the police force to handle the situation. It was a traumatic time because parents refused to believe that the polio drops administered to the children were safe," stated a section of doctors at Bowring, KC General and Victoria Hospitals.
In Mysore, angry parents damaged furniture and medical equipment. There is no cause for concern but as a mandatory requirement for sample testing, the Karnataka drugs control department has made all arrangements to send the polio vaccine for further analysis, stated Dr BR Jagashetty, Karnataka drugs controller.