Safe Vaccines

Top 10 Vaccine Disasters

Throughout the history of vaccines there have been incidences of major misuse, accidental overdosing, and injection of expired serums. Below are the top ten vaccine disasters:

1. Polio Disaster of 1955: After much fanfare and relief the Salk vaccine for poliomyelitis gained distribution for public administration in April of 1955. The public rushed to get vaccinated with the killed virus type vaccine. The world collectively believed that the paralyzing disease so many had feared for so long seemed imminently destined to become a disease of the past.

Within 13 days following the first vaccinations, disaster struck when dozens of individuals who had either received the vaccine or come into contact with others who had been vaccinated developed polio. Soon, over 200 cases of active polio had been realized and 11 people died. In Denver, 1500 children were administered the same brand of vaccine, thus leading experts to fear all 1500 were actively carrying the communicable disease amongst the general public. The cause was found to be a specific batch of vaccinations which contained live virus versus the killed virus. Manufacturing issues were quickly corrected and injections moved forward.

2. Tokyo Expired MMR Disaster: In 1993, approximately 1900 Tokyo area children were administered expired Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccines. Five boys aged one to four years developed aseptic meningitis, many children became disabled and others died.

3. Kazakhstan Tuberculosis Disaster: In the fall of 1997, 133 children in the city of Zhanatas, Kazakhstan developed tuberculosis after receiving TB vaccinations from untrained medics who injected improper formulations. The local government attempted to cover up the mistake. Only after they realized that they could not correct the diminishing health of the children on their own did they contact the national government.

4. Taipei’s Peicheng Hospital Disaster: In November 2003, seven infants were mistakenly injected with the muscle relaxant Atracurium by a nurse who thought the serums were Hepatitis B vaccines. One infant died and the remaining six were feared to have developed cerebral palsy due to the affects of the injection on their respiratory and neurological systems.

5. The Mulkowal Incident: In India in 1902, 19 people were injected with plague vaccine. Within ten days all were deceased from tetanus contracted from the vaccination.

6. Kyoto APT Disaster: In Kyoto in 1948, alum-precipitated toxoid (APT) was injected into hundreds of juveniles. Over 600 infants and children became ill from side effects of the toxic batch and at least 68 died.

7. Anatoxin Disaster of Italy: In Venezia and Rovigo provinces in April of 1933, hundreds of infants and children became severely sick and over 30 died after injection with an anatoxin.

8. The St. Mary’s Overdoses: In Manchester, England 1700 newborn infants were administered tuberculosis vaccines at five times the normal dose over a three month period in 1994. Parents were reassured in letters of symptoms of the mistake and no deaths were reported.

9. The Lubeck Disaster: In the northern German town of Lubeck from December 1929 and through the end of April 1930, 421 infants were born. Of those, 251 received 3 oral doses of BCG vaccine by the time they were ten days old. Of the 251, 72 died of tuberculosis. 135 recovered from clinical tuberculosis and 44 remained well despite being diagnosed as tuberculin-positive.

10. St. Louis Diptheria Disaster: In St. Louis, Missouri in October of 1901, 34 children injected with diptheria antiserum became ill. 20 children suffered from tetanus as a result of the antiserum and 14 died.