The six member medical team appointed to investigate the death of a young girl from Thul has stated in its report that, contrary to the family’s claims, her death was not related to the HPV vaccine.
According to the report sent to the head of the Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), the District Health Officer (DHO) Jacobabad revealed that the 9 year old girl (initial reports had incorrectly described her as a teenager) had been diagnosed with enteric fever (typhoid) at the Sukkur Institute of Child Health.
The investigation noted that no postmortem examination was carried out on the girl’s body. However, based on interviews with the family and a “verbal autopsy,” the team concluded that her death after receiving the HPV vaccine was purely coincidental, as neither her siblings nor any other children in the area experienced adverse effects from the vaccine.
The report stated that the girl, referred to by her family as both Samira and Samiya, received the HPV vaccine on September 20. Later, she was taken to various local healers and, eventually, on September 28, to the Thul Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.
According to the hospital’s medical superintendent, the girl had a fever when brought in and resisted anyone coming near her. She was then referred to a tertiary hospital in Sukkur.
The medical team obtained records from the Sukkur Institute of Child Health, which confirmed she had been diagnosed with typhoid. She passed away the following day. However, the family claimed they did not receive a positive response to their request for a postmortem.
Officials, in contrast, stated that the family had been advised to approach the District Magistrate for a postmortem but failed to do so.
The investigation team also visited the girl’s home. The District Pediatrician examined other vaccinated girls in the area whose families reported symptoms such as fever and difficulty breathing.
These girls were taken to the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences (JIMS), where doctors attributed their symptoms to anxiety. It was also found that the children had not eaten for two days. After treatment, all four girls were discharged.
The investigative team also reviewed the vaccine’s batch number, expiry date, and cold chain management system and found everything to be in order and satisfactory.
