Health departments across the country have been warned by the Ministry of Health to learn from a Hepatitis A vaccine incident in which one pupil died and more than 250 were taken ill.

Premier Wen Jiabao has also demanded that relevant departments ensure the health of children living in Sixian County in east China's Anhui Province, where the six-year-old died earlier this month, local media said yesterday.

Around 2,500 youngsters, aged between three and 16, were vaccinated on June 16 and 17.

A post-mortem examination showed that 6-year-old Li Wei, from Shuiliu Elementary School, died on June 23. She had suffered from respiratory failure.

Some pupils showed an irregular heartbeat after being injected with the vaccine made in Zhejiang Province.

Last night, 259 youngsters were still under close observation in hospital. Another 41 have already been released.

Another 2,200 students who were also vaccinated, but have shown no signs of illness, are being checked on a regular basis.

The Ministry of Health has urged health departments to follow proper procedures when organizing inoculations.

It has issued a notice about the procedure in Sixian, saying: "Local health workers violated the regulations on vaccine control and inoculation management."

It added: "No organizations or individuals are allowed to inject vaccines for a group of people without approval."

Apart from free immunizations organized by the State, individuals cannot be forced to be injected with other vaccines which have to be paid for, the notice added.

It has been reported that a deal between health providers and schools over vaccinations allowed them all to make money out of the incident. It has been alleged that the students were paying over the odds for the injections and schools and doctors earned commission. According to a statement from the Sixian county government yesterday, tests have found students were allergic to the vaccine, which was produced in East China's Zhejiang Province.

However, officials with the Anhui Provincial Health Bureau said they have not yet determined whether this was the case. In the meantime they have banned all Hepatitis A vaccines manufactured by Pukang Biotech Co in Zhejiang Province.

The Beijing-based National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products confirmed yesterday that the vaccine was being tested.

Students from 19 middle and elementary schools in Sixian County were affected by the illegal inoculation organized by county health workers.

Three suspects have been arrested, and an investigation team is also being sent to the vaccine producer in Zhejiang.

(China Daily June 29, 2005)