Three-month-old baby loses arm, foot after ‘botched’ vaccination

Three-month-old baby Austin Njoroge lost his foot and arm after doctors had to amputate them due to a BCG vaccination that went wrong.

His parents, Peter Gitonga and his wife Leah Waithira, say the incident is because of negligence at Kihara Hospital in Kiambu.

Baby Austin was born on February 7 through the caesarian section, and the mother was released from the hospital three days later.

Ms. Waithera was however asked to go back the next day for the baby to be administered the BCG and polio vaccinations.

Speaking to the Daily Nation, Waithera said that baby Austin had difficulty in breathing and refused to be breastfed.

After a while, she noticed that the baby's arm (the spot where he was given the vaccination), was numb and cold.

When they went back to the hospital after the infant continued to show signs of being unwell, the doctors assured them that the BCG vaccination could not have been the cause of the complications.

"The doctor pricked a finger on the left hand, but there was no blood. He used the same needle to prick a toe on the right foot. After the test, he informed us that the sugar level was too low, and that the baby was dehydrated. He insisted that he be admitted," Ms Waithera told the Daily Nation.

After a while, Austin’s mother noticed her baby’s affected hand had turned blue, and his right foot had also been affected as well.

They were referred to Kiambu Level Five Hospital after the baby was diagnosed with neonatal sepsis and later to the Kenyatta National Hospital for amputation.

Baby Austin was admitted for a month and a half after which the swellings on his arm and foot burst and began rotting.

Doctors at KHN had no other option than to amputate the limbs.