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SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2006
11/20/06
Vaccination and anaphylaxis
Summary
Background - Some patients and parents of children for whom vaccine administration is recommended express concern that an anaphylactic reaction may occur following such an injection.
Findings - Nokleby of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health discussed this matter. The incidence of anaphylactic/severe allergic reactions to vaccines is very low (< one case per million doses) with no deaths reported in recent years. Those rare cases are generally due to sensitivity to egg components used in vaccine production or gelatin added to the vaccine as a stabilizer. Most egg-allergic patients can tolerate vaccines containing very small amounts of egg protein. It is important to not mistake a vasovagal reaction, with or without hyperventilation, for an anaphylactic reaction.
Reference
Curr Allergy and Asthma Rep 2006;6:9-13
Editor's Comments
A question has been raised whether natural rubber latex (NRL) present in small amounts in some individual vaccine dose syringes might be a potential trigger of an anaphylactic reaction in NRL-allergic subjects. For example, Fluarix, the influenza (Flu) vaccine from Glaxo Smith Kline for the 2006-2007 season is reported to be in a NRL-containing syringe. I have found no reports of anaphylactic reactions to Fluarix. The 2 other Flu vaccines available in the USA for the 2006-2007 season (made by Aventis-Pasteur and Novartis) reportedly do not contain NRL in the vaccine nor in the syringe containing individual vaccine doses.
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