50,000 babies to miss out on jab for TB

The number of babies in Ireland who will not have been immunised against tuberculosis by the end of the year is set to reach 50,000 — because of a European-wide shortage of the vaccine.

The backlog of unvaccinated infants is already in the region of 20,000 since the BCG vaccine ran out at the end of April. It will not be available again “until at least Quarter 1, 2016”, according to the Health Service Executive.

The BCG vaccine provides effective protection against TB in four out of five infants who are given it.

TB is a chronic bacterial disease that usually affects the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body such as the glands, bones, joints, and kidney. It can also affect the brain, causing meningitis.

The HSE said it has “no control over when BCG vaccine will be delivered by the vaccine manufacturer” and that the problem is compounded by the fact that there is only one licensed manufacturer to supply the whole of the EU.

Given there are approximately 5,500-6,000 births per month, approximately 50,000 newborns will not have received the vaccine by the end of 2015.

While the HSE said that the number of cases of TB in Ireland has been falling and that there were “no cases in young children in 2014”, there have been serious outbreaks.

In 2007, there were 21 cases spread across two creches in Cork and in 2010, there were in the region of 50 cases of TB infection in a single primary school in Cork City.

The HSE said since the supply problem became apparent, it has been in regular contact with the manufacturer and with the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) which licenses vaccines in Ireland.

The HSE said the HPRA had been seeking an alternative supply of BCG with no success.

Fianna Fáil spokesman on children, Robert Troy said the shortage meant “tens of thousands of babies in Ireland will be left unprotected against TB for months”.

He said while there had been shortages “of a couple of weeks” in the past, it now looked like the process could be stalled for much longer.

“Many parents are now confused about how this affects the entire immunisation process and whether or not they can continue with the rest of the vaccinations scheduled for their babies.”

He urged Health Minister Leo Varadkar to clear up the confusion for parents and to outline what measures are being taken to ensure that the backlog of babies waiting for the BCG will be cleared quickly once the vaccine is back in stock.

He also called for the minister to outline what efforts have been made to secure another supplier of the vaccine “so that such protracted delays can be avoided in the future”.

The HSE said most European countries, including Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland do not give the BCG vaccine to all babies, so babies are not at risk of TB because of the delay in getting it in Ireland. The HSE said resolving the issue of the shortage “remains a priority”.

Separately the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) is currently assessing the impact of moving from universal to selective BCG vaccination.

Since the 1950s, the BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccine has been given as part of the childhood vaccination schedule in Ireland to reduce the risk of contracting tuberculosis (TB).