A BBC reporter who lost his job after an episode of mental illness, tells Channel 4 News that he believes a travel injection may have triggered the fever that led to his illness.
Malcolm Brabant, who had been the BBC’s correspondent in Athens, described how the fever developed within days of having a routine yellow fever vaccine to go to Africa.
In an interview with Channel 4 News’s Sarah Smith, Mr Brabant described how his mental illness developed during his time in hospital recovering from the fever.
“I started going crazy,” he says. “I thought I had supernatural powers.”
“In about week two, I thought I was the Messiah, which was really bizarre. I believed that I was contacted by guardian angels, friends of mine who had died prematurely, war correspondents who’d been shot in places.”
He described this as an “uplifting experience” adding, “I thought I was on this earth to do good”. This phase disappeared after medication, but Mr Brabant had several relapses.
He lost his job in Athens and had to move to Denmark with his family. He said he then took a turn for the worse and told Channel 4 News that he started to think he was the devil. “I went into a very black hole there,” he said.
I have a lot of determination to make sure that I stay sane Malcolm Brabants
Mr Brabant said that the whole experience had a “devastating emotional effect” on his family, including his 12-year-old son. He said: “Suddenly he saw me going mad in front of his eyes.”
He said that the only possible explanation for the episode was that it was a reaction to the vaccination, adding that he had no history of mental illness.
“I hope that I am a survivor,” he said. “I have a lot of determination to make sure that I stay sane.”
In a statement, Sanofi Pasteur MSD expressed sympathies to Mr Brabant for his illness, but said its investigation did not establish a connection between the vaccination and his illness.
“We take all reports of adverse events very seriously and this report was actively followed up with a full investigation… The administered vaccine dose came from a batch that had passed the numerous quality controls prior to release for use.
“After carefully examining all the medical information that was disclosed to us up to April 2013, we have been unable to establish any evidence for a causal relationship between the administration of the yellow fever vaccine Stamaril and Mr Brabant’s reported medical condition.
“Sanofi Pasteur MSD supports both the safety profile and effectiveness of their yellow fever vaccine Stamaril.”