Autopsy results inconclusive in baby's death

| Friday, August 29, 2008

Deirdre Cox Baker

An autopsy has given no exact reason for the death of a baby that caused Genesis Health System to temporarily suspend its childhood vaccination program in July.

The results are “inconclusive,” Rock Island County Coroner Sharon Anderson said of the final report that was returned earlier this month.

The 4-month-old boy died July 1, hours after receiving childhood vaccinations at a Genesis Health Group facility in the Illinois Quad-Cities. The hospital organization stopped its entire program for several days to investigate.

Genesis officials declined comment on the results.

Anderson said “inconclusive” autopsy results occur sporadically. “It’s unfortunate when we can’t pinpoint the cause,” she added.

The infant, who was not identified, had received standard vaccines that protect children from eight diseases, including diphtheria, Haemophilus, influenza B, hepatitis B, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus and tetanus.

Initial testing by the coroner’s office was also inconclusive. In July, the office filed a required report with the Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, or VAERS, which is run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, in Atlanta.

About 30,000 VAERS reports are made annually in the United States, with 10 percent to 15 percent of those having a serious result, including death.

The VAERS report and the baby’s medical records will be studied by the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Curtis Allen, a CDC spokesman. The review is to determine whether the local death is part of any pattern across the country.