http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au
The Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association has warned against making a Brisbane doctor a scapegoat in the death of a toddler who had received the seasonal flu vaccine.
Two-year-old Ashley Epapara was found dead in her cot on April 9, a day after she and her twin sister were given the flu shot by private general practitioner Dr Amir Eskandari.
The state's chief medical officer Dr Jeannette Young yesterday referred Dr Eskandari to the Medical Board of Queensland for not reporting the girl's suspected adverse reaction to the vaccine, as required by law.
AMA Queensland president Dr Mason Stevenson said focus needed to remain on determining the cause of death and not the doctor's conduct.
"Let's resolve the issue about how this child died because the parents need closure," Dr Stevenson said.
"Secondly we all need to know if [there is], or if there's not, a link with the seasonal flu vaccine."
Infectious diseases expert from the Australian National University, Professor Peter Collignon, says early tests showed there were problems with the vaccine.
The early warning signs were in the original studies by the vaccine manufacturer, CSL, in children, that was published in January in a journal called JAMA and this looked at about 370 children who were vaccinated last October with the swine flu vaccine.
And what was surprising is particularly young children under the age of three. About 35 per cent of those developed a fever when they were given the lower dose of the vaccine.
He has called on the government to conduct more stringent testing.
"I think we needed to do a better job than what has been done with this vaccine so that we keep the confidence in the public," Professor Collignon told ABC Radio.
Dr Eskandari has welcomed the Medical Board review, saying he did nothing wrong.
He did not report the death because Ashley seemed fine after receiving the shot, and he followed strict procedure before giving the vaccine, he said.
He believed people should wait for further results before jumping to conclusions.
"You've got to get consent before any injection. Everything was under control and I don't know exactly what happened," he told reporters outside his Mt Gravatt practice.
Initial results of an autopsy released yesterday found there was no sign the seasonal flu vaccine was to blame for Ashley's death. Further tests will be carried out.
This season's flu shot has been linked to adverse reactions in scores of children, mostly in Western Australia and Queensland.
Federal authorities have suspended the vaccine for children under five, however they are still urging older people, particularly those in risk groups, to continue to be inoculated.
The Queensland coroner is investigating the cause of Ashley's death.
