Children given flu jab overdose
'Isolated error' sees children given four jabs instead of one and another child given an adult dose by mistake
FIVE young children in Brittany have put under close medical surveillance after they were each given four doses of the swine flu jab by mistake.
Local health authorities in the Finistère said none of the children had shown any side-effects yet following the "isolated error" at a vaccination centre in Brest on Monday.
According to the Direction Départementale des Affaires Sanitaires et Sociales, the five children - all aged under three - were given 1ml of the vaccine instead of 0.25ml.
Families have been told that the risks associated with an overdose are low - children might experience a brief period of fever or see swelling where the injection was made.
In a separate case in Brittany, a three-year-old girl in Paimpol was accidentally given an adult dose on Monday.
She is suffering from a fever and is under medical surveillance. An investigation is underway to find out how the mistake happened.
According to flu watchdog Grog, four million people have been hit by swine flu in France so far - a million of those cases were in the last week.
A million people have been vaccinated so far in 1,000 centres around the country. In the Rhône, unemployed people have been hired on a temporary basis to work on the reception to help cope with demand.
