Baby gets 10 times normal TB vaccine

LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- A hospital in North Lincolnshire, England, says it is launching an investigation of an overdose of a tuberculosis vaccine given to a newborn.

Lawyers for the family of the baby boy, born Feb. 5, say he was injected at Scunthorpe General Hospital with 0.5mg of the BCG vaccine, 10 times the required 0.05mg dose, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

The child is being treated with help from an expert in immunology and from the poisons agency at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

"Their baby is receiving treatment for TB, which has its own side-effects, but they are hopeful that the treatment will be successful with no long-term damage to their baby's health," said David Body, a medical law specialist at the Irwin Mitchell law firm representing the parents. "It is important that we get answers about how and why this has happened."

Simon Rigg, spokesman for Scunthorpe General Hospital, said it was unclear how long the investigation into the incident would last.

"We launched a full investigation as soon as we found out about the incident.

"That investigation is ongoing and we will continue to keep the parents informed as to the progress of that investigation," Rigg said.