Babies must wait until March for vital TB vaccine

THOUSANDS of newborn babies will have to wait until March at the earliest before they can avail of a potentially vital vaccine which prevents TB.

A Europe-wide shortage of the BCG vaccine in recent months has badly hit Irish maternity hospitals, clinics and GP services, to the extent that there’s little or none of it left in this country.

The news comes as provisional figures from the National Disease Surveillance Centre show there were 458 cases of TB in 2006, up from 381 in 2001.

With more than 5,000 babies born throughout Ireland each month, a large backlog of vaccinations is likely when supplies of the vaccine are restored.

Infants in some parts of the country have not had access to the BCG vaccination since October.

According to the HSE’s own immunisation website, the BCG vaccine is recommended “when your child is born”.

The vaccine has slashed the incidence of TB in Ireland during the past four decades and is routinely given at most maternity hospitals. The only exception is in Cork, where the vaccine hasn’t been administered in hospitals for 35 years, although that was due to change before the present shortage came about.

“The HSE doesn’t have it at the moment to distribute it to the GPs,” said a spokesperson yesterday.

However, the HSE moved to assure the public that there was no extra risk to babies.

“There has been a dramatic decline in TB over the past 40 years in this country, and the risk of contracting the condition remains low, so there is no need for any undue alarm or concern,” said HSE assistant national director for population health Dr Kevin Kelleher.

In a statement, the HSE said that “ongoing regulatory difficulties” being experienced by the Danish manufacturer of the BCG vaccine were causing the shortages.