Another child vaccinated against measles in a Muzaffarpur village on Saturday died at Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) on Monday.

Two-year-old Rohit Kumar was one the 15 children who were administered vaccination against measles at the primary health centre in Patori village of Muzaffarpur district, around 80km north of Patna, on Friday. Two children had died, after allegedly being administered the vaccine, on Friday while the rest developed complications. Nine children were admitted to SKMCH and two, including Rohit, were sent to Kejriwal Maternity Hospital in the north Bihar town with fever, vomiting and other problems.

Rohit was brought to SKMCH on Sunday evening after his condition deteriorated at the private hospital. He passed away on Monday morning.

A three-member central team from the Union ministry of health and family welfare had held a meeting with civil surgeon Lalita Singh and SKMCH officials on Sunday over the death of Raju and Sonu Kumar on Friday. After Rohit's death, the team held another meeting on Monday.

Health officials had denied on Saturday that Raju and Sonu had died because of the vaccination and said they died because of existing complications.

Sources said the central team raised questions at the way the vaccines were preserved at the primary health centre. Civil surgeon Lalita had said Raju (9 months) and Sonu Kumar (one-and-a-half year-old) were suffering from diarrhoea at the time they were brought for vaccination. She said the other children had minor complications such as fever and vomiting.

An official who took part in Monday's meeting told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity: "The central team suspects that the vaccines were not preserved at the right temperature. Also, the exact time to convert vaccine into vial was not found by the team. All these things would be probed."

Lalita said the vaccine vial was being sent to a Chandigarh laboratory for examination. "The test will determine if the vaccine had some problem or not," she told The Telegraph over the phone from Muzaffarpur.

Sources said that this is not first time children have died after being administered vaccines. A child died in Vaishali district and six others developed complications after receiving polio drops two years ago at an anganwadi centre in Shahpur village near Hajipur.