June 2 (UPI) — Fifteen children in a rural South Sudan town died in a botched measles vaccination campaign led by an unqualified staff, a World Health Organization investigation revealed.
The victims were under the age of five and died because those administering vaccinations did not follow safety standards during the four-day campaign, WHO reported Thursday. The investigation noted that syringes were used multiple times on different children and that the vaccine was not kept in a cold storage facility, as required. People as young as 12 were administering the vaccinations.
About 300 children received injections in Nachodokopele village, in a remote part of South Sudan’s Kauto County. The report said another 32 children had symptoms of negative reactions – fever, vomiting and diarrhea – but recovered.
Sky News reported that South Sudan’s Health Ministry blamed the deaths on human error and convened a multiagency committee to review the WHO report and recommend action to prevent another similar incident.
A WHO statement said the measles-eradication campaign would continue in South Sudan, noting it successfully immunized over two million children across the country. United Nations data show that South Sudan had at least 2,294 measles cases in 2016, and 28 deaths attributed to the vaccine.
