MMR baby 'chatting away' hours before his death, inquest hears

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MMR baby 'chatting away' hours before his death, inquest hears

Parents of Fisher, who died at 18 months, say they could have

acted earlier had they been given the right information

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A healthy baby boy who was heard " chatting away on the baby monitor "

just hours before he died received an MMR jab shortly after suffering

a fever fit that the vaccine may have aggravated, an inquest heard today.

Fisher, who was 18 months old when he was discovered dead in

his cot in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire by his mother, Fisher,

had been given the MMR jab 10 days earlier in January 2006, a coroner

heard.

suffered from febrile convulsions, fits caused by high

temperatures. Fisher, 44, and her husband, , 43, believe

the vaccine was " implicated " in their son's death.

They say the temperature-raising effects of the drug on children with

febrile convulsions were not explained to them, and that this

knowledge might have allowed them to act sooner.

According to Department of Health guidelines, the jab should be given

''with caution''. However, the guidelines do not ban child sufferers

of febrile convulsions from receiving it, but rather recommends

monitoring their temperatures.

Two doctors confirmed that giving MMR to sufferers such as was

permitted under patient guidelines, with careful watches recommended.

In evidence, Fisher said her son had been a " healthy and robust " child

who she had breastfed for 11 months - longer than her other three

children.

He was given antibiotics for his febrile illness shortly before he

received his MMR jab, and had been " running around playing football

with his father " on the Wednesday before he died .

The night before he died, he was " chatting away on the baby monitor " ,

she added.

" He took his bottle of water and I put the quilt over him, stroked his

head and said goodnight. I went to bed, heard him drink his water,

then throw the bottle on the floor. I heard him shuffling around. "

At 8am, his sister Meg, who was sharing a room with him, called out to

her.

" I was surprised he was not awake. I tried to wake him, but it was

clear he was dead because of his colour, and he was cold, " Fisher said.

He had been due to attend a doctor's appointment for his worsening

symptoms on the day he died.

She added that she now knew should have been more closely

monitored because of his previous condition.

The coroner heard was born at a healthy 8lbs 10oz, and came

through his routine injection with no side-effects.

Dr Annette Bugaighis, his GP, said the child fell ill on September 25,

2005, after returning from a holiday in Spain, and developed a high

temperature.

After suffering a fit at the Overton Park surgery, he was rushed to

hospital, where it was found he had suffered febrile convulsion. When

admitted, had a high temperature, stiff neck, puffy eyes, and

green-tinged stools.

Both Dr Annette Bugaighis and consultant paediatrician Alan Day of

Cheltenham general hospital agreed that he was safe to be given the

vaccine on January 9 2006, and that he should be monitored for raised

temperature.

" There was nothing obvious in his medical history to explain his

sudden death,'' Dr Bugaighis said.

A Department of Health pamphlet advises only that MMR2 should be given

" with caution " to those " with an individual or family history of

cerebral injury or any other condition in which stress due to fever

should be avoided. The physician should be alert to the rise in

temperature that may follow. "

Mr Fisher said that the family had not been given a patient

information leaflet on the MMR precautions to be taken with children

who had previously suffered fever. Nor was any verbal advice specific

to his circumstances.

" How I remember it, we were told if he had a rising temperature to

give him Calpol if he got grizzly. I had been present at all my

children's vaccines and it's the same spiel on every occasion, " he said.

" Given his condition, they should have been aware of his medical

history. At no point were we asked for this before his vaccination. "

" If we had been [given the leaflet], we would have gone to hospital

much quicker because of the information in that list. We would have

been much more concerned than we actually were. "

, the nurse who gave his injection, said she

trusted his parents' instincts and was satisfied when they told her

was well on the day.

Nurse , who vaccinates " in excess " of 1,000 babies a year,

said no specific advice was required other then regular checking of

temperature.

The Gloucestershire coroner, Alan Crickmore, will hear up to three

days of evidence at the Shire Hall, Gloucester, before recording a

verdict.

Ten years ago, research led by Dr Wakefield, a

gastroenterologist at London's Royal Free Hospital, prompted fears

that the combined Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine was linked to

autism.

Despite several studies in Britain, Finland and Japan disproving the

connection, anxiety has persisted over the vaccine. Cases of measles

have topped 1,000 for the first time in more than a decade, according

to information that emerged last week. The Health Protection Agency

has attributed the rise to the " relatively low " uptake of the MMR

vaccine.