Health probes city baby’s death
Dec 07, 2009
Asma Abdullah woke up on a calm day and took her 11-month-old daughter to the hospital to be immunised against measles.
By Francis Kagolo
Asma Abdullah woke up on a calm day and took her 11-month-old daughter to the hospital to be immunised against measles.
But the day turned murky when Nema Abdullah died soon after a nurse at Kyadondo Medical Centre in Kawempe, a Kampala suburb, injected her with a vaccine.
Her father, Abdullah Murshid, 50, narrates that: “After the injection, the girl cried and her mother carried her on the shoulder. After a few minutes, the child was quiet and cold.â€
The teary mother then rushed to SAS Clinic on Bombo Road but was referred to Mulago Hospital, where nurses told her the child had died.
Murshid, who said his daughter had been in good health, said she turned purple before she died.
The Police are investigating the death. Ahmed Kabugo who vaccinated the child and the clinic’s chief, only identified as Lutalemwa, were arrested the following day.
Paul Mugisha, the officer in charge of criminal investigations at Kawempe Police, said the two were released on Police bond.
When The New Vision visited the centre yesterday, its proprietor, Dr. Ishaque Musoke, declined to comment on the matter.
However, residents accused Musoke of employing unqualified relatives to manage the health facility.
“The medical centre is not four years old. There are few trained medical staff,†said a resident.
However, in an interview with Bukedde, The New Vision’s sister paper, on Friday, Musoke defended Kabugo, saying he was a qualified nurse.
He explained that the vaccines had been supplied by the Kampala City Council health department. “I will contact KCC health officials to find out what might have gone wrong.â€
Dr. Mohammed Kirumira, the KCC health inspector, explained that: “We always ensure that drugs are kept well under appropriate temperatures and delivered to clinics in proper condition. Such an incident had never happened in Kampala.â€
Dr. Kenya Mugisha, the director for clinical and community health services in the Ministry of Health, explained that turning purple occurs when one’s blood stops circulating.
According to Mugisha, vaccination could turn harmful when a child is injected while they are ill or due to noxious medicine. “We (the ministry) will investigate and find out the real cause,†he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Police have complained that the family refused their request for a post-mortem examination, citing religious reasons. They are Muslims.
Asma Abdullah woke up on a calm day and took her 11-month-old daughter to the hospital to be immunised against measles.
But the day turned murky when Nema Abdullah died soon after a nurse at Kyadondo Medical Centre in Kawempe, a Kampala suburb, injected her with a vaccine.
Her father, Abdullah Murshid, 50, narrates that: “After the injection, the girl cried and her mother carried her on the shoulder. After a few minutes, the child was quiet and cold.â€
The teary mother then rushed to SAS Clinic on Bombo Road but was referred to Mulago Hospital, where nurses told her the child had died.
Murshid, who said his daughter had been in good health, said she turned purple before she died.
The Police are investigating the death. Ahmed Kabugo who vaccinated the child and the clinic’s chief, only identified as Lutalemwa, were arrested the following day.
Paul Mugisha, the officer in charge of criminal investigations at Kawempe Police, said the two were released on Police bond.
When The New Vision visited the centre yesterday, its proprietor, Dr. Ishaque Musoke, declined to comment on the matter.
However, residents accused Musoke of employing unqualified relatives to manage the health facility.
“The medical centre is not four years old. There are few trained medical staff,†said a resident.
However, in an interview with Bukedde, The New Vision’s sister paper, on Friday, Musoke defended Kabugo, saying he was a qualified nurse.
He explained that the vaccines had been supplied by the Kampala City Council health department. “I will contact KCC health officials to find out what might have gone wrong.â€
Dr. Mohammed Kirumira, the KCC health inspector, explained that: “We always ensure that drugs are kept well under appropriate temperatures and delivered to clinics in proper condition. Such an incident had never happened in Kampala.â€
Dr. Kenya Mugisha, the director for clinical and community health services in the Ministry of Health, explained that turning purple occurs when one’s blood stops circulating.
According to Mugisha, vaccination could turn harmful when a child is injected while they are ill or due to noxious medicine. “We (the ministry) will investigate and find out the real cause,†he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Police have complained that the family refused their request for a post-mortem examination, citing religious reasons. They are Muslims.