An inquest has heard that the 14-year-old girl who died after being given the HPV vaccine had a malignant tumour in her chest.

The deputy coroner of Coventry, Louise Hunt, has said that the results of a post-mortem indicate that the vaccine was not a ‘contributing factor’ in Natalie Morton’s death.

The inquest into her death was opened and adjourned in Coventry on Thursday (01/10/09), the Guardian reports. The tumour the schoolgirl had is thought to have become ‘progressively disabling’.

The chaplain at the Blue Coat CofE School in Coventry, where Natalie was a pupil, had previously denied reports that Natalie had epilepsy. The Daily Telegraph reported that Father Paul Messam said he had seen Natalie’s file and there was ‘nothing on it to suggest she had any underlying health problems’.

The Department of Health (DoH) had requested that all primary care trusts (PCTs) check whether they had any stocks of the same batch of vaccine that Natalie was given – HPV1 Cervarix AHP VA04 3BB. All vaccines from that batch had been quarantined as a precautionary measure.

Coventry PCT had also suspended its HPV vaccination programme until Thursday, along with Havering PCT in east London, NHS West Essex and Bristol PCT. Some schools had also suspended the vaccination programme temporarily.

The deputy coroner told the inquest at Coventry Magistrates’ Court:

‘It appears that Natalie died from a tumour in her chest involving her heart and her lungs.’

Speaking after the hearing, Natalie’s mother Elaine Bullock and stepfather Andrew Bullock said:

‘We now know that Natalie's death was the result of a serious underlying medical condition and most probably nothing to do with the vaccine that she had at school on Monday.

‘Natalie was a wonderful daughter, sister and granddaughter. She was kind, fun-loving and had a beautiful smile.’

The DoH issued a statement, saying:

‘The HPV vaccination programme can continue as planned – there is no reason for the campaign to be suspended or interrupted.’

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