Northwest Regional General Hospital where newborn twins died this week. — Photo tienphong.vn

NGHỆ AN — Central Nghệ An Province’s Health Department on Wednesday concluded that the cause of death for newborn twin girls after receiving a vaccine for hepatitis B, was congenital metabolic disorders.

Director of the provincial Department of Health Dương Đình Chỉnh has told Vietnam News Agency they did not find any evidence that the babies developed abnormal reactions to the vaccine.

The conclusion was given after the department held an urgent meeting with leading professors and doctors from the central hospitals to clarify the causes of the death.

The babies were born last Wednesday at Northwest Regional General Hospital in Nghệ An central province weighing 3kg each.

Three days later, after receiving the vaccine, the first child began vomiting and showing signs of respiratory and circulatory failure before losing her fight for life. She died last Friday.

The second baby also showed the same abnormal signs and then was transferred to the provincial Maternity Hospital.

But she died on Saturday after receiving an intensive treatment at the hospital.

According to a report of the Northwest Regional General Hospital, other 18 children were also vaccinated against hepatitis B with the same batch of medicine with the twin. They have not had any abnormal reactions.

A metabolic disorder can occur when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the normal process. It can also be defined as inherited single gene anomaly. — VNS