the victims only received between £1 and £2 each for participating

There has been an uproar in Poland after a group of homeless men and women died after being subjected to medical trials for a new vaccine to innoculate against the H5N1 bird-flu virus. Health authorities claim that three polish doctors as well as six nurses are now in danger of criminal prosecution after failing to adequately inform the volunteers of the risks involved in the clinical trial.

It is estimated that around 350 homeless and very low income individuals were involved in this testing and were told that the vaccine was just a normal flu vaccine when in fact it was a trial specifically designed to examine the safety of a vaccine developed to beat the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The doctors and nurses came from the town of Grudziadz which is in the northern part of Poland, a region known for its poverty. They claim that the volunteers for this medical trial were told that the vaccine was designed for the H5N1 bird flu virus but nevertheless the health minister of Poland Ewa Kopacz said that if found guilty the doctors and nurses would be struck off the medical register.

The reports of people dying after using this vaccine started after the boss of a homeless shelter told a newspaper that far more people from his establishment had died and most of them were involved in the clinical trials. It is thought that the victims only received between £1 and £2 each for participating.

Nothing has been conclusively proven yet however this incident will add to the bad reputation that the Polish health authorities have. Pharmaceutical companies are investing millions of pounds into research for a vaccine for the H5N1 virus and volunteers are often in short supply. This means that the vulnerable groups are often asked to participate and are also not fully aware of the dangers of trying untested medicine.