Vaccine Scare In Western Australia Spreads To More Than 250 Infants
- MELBOURNE -(Dow Jones)- A health scare that has embroiled biopharmaceutical company CSL Ltd. (CSL.AU) spread further Tuesday, when authorities in Western Australia state said more than 250 infants had fallen ill after receiving seasonal influenza vaccines. The WA Health Department said 55 children in the state had suffered possible febrile seizures after being vaccinated, while another 196 suffered less severe reactions such as fevers and vomiting. There is also a report that the coroner in Queensland state was investigating the death of a two-year-old girl who died shortly after being vaccinated. CSL suspended distribution of its paediatric seasonal influenza vaccine in Australia on Friday as authorities halted influenza vaccinations for children aged under five. A WA health Department spokeswoman said the state's influenza vaccines were supplied by CSL and two other manufacturers, Solvay S.A. (SOLB.BT) and Sanofi-Pasteur S.A (AVP.YY). CSL, which said Friday that it was cooperating with an Australian government investigation into the problem, was unavailable for comment. Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper reported that Ashley Epapara was found dead at her home in the Queensland state capital on April 9, 12 hours after receiving the influenza vaccine. It said an autopsy had failed to identify a cause of death and the state's coroner was conducting tests to check whether the fatality was linked to the vaccine. CSL said last week that its seasonal vaccine immunized children against three influenza strains, including H1N1, also known as swine flu. At 0545 GMT, CSL shares were down A$1.13, or 3.3%, at A$32.81 but Shaw Stockbroking analyst Matthijs Smith said he didn't think the vaccine scare was behind the stock's losses. He said a downbeat assessment of the plasma market from CSL's U.S. rival Baxter (BAX) last week was the likely reason for the fall, saying many investors didn't have a chance to react to it last Friday ahead of a long weekend in Australia. "We may be seeing the full impact of the Baxter announcement today, rather than (the impact of) any new information," he said. -By Neil Sands, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2095; neil.sands@dowjones.com Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=umBGNUjSzS22PCpF%2FWAlPw%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
