Thousands of babies not immunised against TB

About 50,000 babies in Ireland may not be immunised against tuberculosis (TB) by the end of this year due to a delay in the delivery of the vaccine.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) ran out of the BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin) vaccination at the end of April. It said the shortage of the vaccine affected most countries in Europe.

About 23,000 babies in the State have not been immunised against TB – as the HSE said, in a statement, up to 6,000 babies are born every month.

“The HSE has no control over when the BCG vaccine will be delivered by the vaccine manufacturer and these supply issues will continue until at least quarter one 2016,” it said.

The statement said its staff would arrange appointments for the vaccination when supply was restored.

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that mainly attacks the lungs. However, it can spread to any organ in the body through lymph nodes and the bloodstream. It can also affect the brain causing meningitis.

The bacteria is typically transmitted from person to person through close contact, coughs and sneezes.

The HSE said there is only one licensed manufacturer in Denmark that supplies the BCG vaccine to European countries.

It said the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), which licenses vaccines in Ireland, has looked for an alternative supply that met safety and quality requirement but not found one.

The BCG vaccine has been used routinely in Ireland and worldwide since the 1950s. In 1952, there were almost 7,000 cases of the disease in Ireland.

The vaccine gives effective protection to 80 per cent of infants who receive it. The HSE recommends newborn babies get the vaccine. It said there were no TB cases in young children in 2014.

A report from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said there were 328 cases of TB last year with the highest proportion in Dublin. Seven of those cases were children between five and 15-years-old. The report said 40 per cent of the total cases were foreign born.

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said the delivery of a BCG vaccine produced in 2014 was suspended pending an extensive investigation regarding possible problems with the capping of the vials.

“This issue has now been resolved but this has added to the delay in production of new batches of the vaccine,” he said.

Mr Varadkar was responding to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Gerry Adams last month.

Mr Adams has criticised the Department of Health for not finding an alternative supplier. "The difficulties in supply of the BCG vaccine have been known by the Department of Health since last year.

“As a result at least 50,000 babies, and potentially many more, will not receive their BCG when appropriate. This is a matter of real concern given the dangers posed to humans from tuberculosis.

“Many grandparents will remember the time when to have TB was a life-threatening experience which required long periods of isolation and convalescence.”

Mr Adams said there should not be complacency. “A 1,000 people develop it each day across Europe and it kills one and a half million people every year around the world,” he said.