8 February 2000
The Department of Health in the North West Province urges parents to continue taking their children for immunisation. This plea follows disturbing reports in other parts of the country about cases of death or illness in babies who were immunised against a range of childhood diseases some days before they became ill. It must be stressed that the North West province has not experienced any cases of serious side-effects or fatality suspected to be linked to the vaccines. The department also notes that the link between the vaccines in question and these conditions have not yet been conclusively proven.
Ms Calvinia Sebekedi, Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation said: "We need the public to know that we take the possibility of adverse immunisation reactions seriously, although these are extremely rare. The vaccines in question are of international standard and go through a rigorous assessment by the Medicines Control Council".
It should also be pointed out that eight out of ten South African children receive eight different vaccines on five occasions before their second birthday and that very few have severe reactions. International scientific literature indicates some side effects to pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, but these are very rare and none has been serious enough to cause permanent damage. The department is concerned that the public should not get a distorted picture of the benefits of immunisation and therefore refuse to have their children immunised. The community needs to realise that if fewer children are immunised, there will be an increased risk of epidemics like the 1997 British epidemic, where over 100 000 cases of whooping cough occurred, with many deaths following as a result.
"We have at least eradicated smallpox and virtually eliminated polio and measles. The benefits to be derived from immunising children against a whole range of childhood diseases, far outweigh the very small risk attached to immunisation and our clear advice to parents is to continue to protect their children through immunisation', pleaded Ms Sebekedi.
Contact
Tanana Cornelius Monama
082 578 4063
Issued by the Government Communication and Information System
(GCIS) on behalf of the Department of Health - North West.