Pune girl lands in ICU, parents blame MR vaccine in school

Pune: An eight-year-old girl was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital after she developed "paralytic" symptoms, days after she was administered measles and rubella vaccine in her school, her parents said Wednesday.

Shweta Kamble's parents said that she complained of uneasiness and shivering Tuesday, three days after she was given the vaccine in her school during a drive launched by the Maharashtra government.

Her condition deteriorated further and she was not able to move her limbs, they said.

However, doctors said the girl's present condition has nothing to do with the vaccination.

After admission in the government-run hospital, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an illness related to the nervous system that weakens the muscles, they said.

"Shweta was given the vaccination on Saturday at her school in Hadapsar and we were told that there will be minor reactions such as light fever.

"She was feeling feverish for two days, but we did not panic," Santosh Kamble, the girl's father, said.

On Tuesday, she complained of uneasiness and started shivering and was not able to move her limbs, indicating "paralytic" symptoms, he said.

"We then rushed her to a hospital in Hadapsar from where she was sent to Sassoon Hospital. Since then she is in the ICU and on ventilator support," he added.

Dr Ramchandra Hankare, the medical officer (health) at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), however, said the girl's condition has nothing to do with the vaccine she was given in her school.

Shweta Kamble had already received doses of measles at nine months and 1.5 years of age, Hankare said.

"The present condition of the girl has nothing to do with the vaccination as after she was admitted to Sassoon Hospital on Tuesday, the paediatric department of the hospital diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre syndrome," he said.

Hankare said the girl is under observation and on life support in the ICU, and a team of doctors is continuously monitoring her condition.

Dr Ajay Chandanwale, the dean of Sassoon Hospital, said after the girl was admitted in the ICU, a team of paediatrician probed her case and gave a report that she is suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"Currently, the girl is under observation and is being treated and her condition is stable," he said.

The government has launched a statewide vaccination drive to protect children in the age group of nine months to 15 years from measles and rubella.