The Southern Health Board last night ruled out any link between the hepatitis B vaccine and the recent deaths of three residents from the COPE Foundation in Cork and said there had been no increase in the incident of hepatitis B in the SHB area.
Meanwhile, the COPE Foundation's chief executive, Mr Jerry Buttimer, has welcomed the decision of the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, to order an inquiry into the death from illness of two female residents and one male resident of the COPE Foundation's residential care unit for mentally handicapped people in Cork over the past three weeks.
