Australia - CSL Withdraws Child Flu Vaccine

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CSL Withdraws Child Flu Vaccine

By

NEIL SANDS

MELBOURNE—

CSL Ltd. voluntarily withdrew its child influenza vaccine in

Australia on Tuesday after a government investigation found it induced

seizures in children at nine times the expected level.

The action comes after Australia's Health Department suspended its

seasonal flu vaccine program and launched an investigation on April 23

after reports that hundreds of children suffered side effects including

convulsions, vomiting and fever after receiving their annual inoculation.

The department's Theraputic Goods Administration released interim

findings Tuesday that said most of the adverse reactions were associated

with CSL's Fluvax vaccine.

It ordered CSL, one of the world largest vaccine manufacturers, to insert

a new warning on Fluvax and Fluvax Jr. alerting medics about the risk of

convulsions and fevers when it is used on young children.

In statement, CSL said it would comply with the directive and continue

investigations with Australian authorities to find the cause of the

problem.

" As a further precautionary measure...CSL has voluntarily commenced

a retrieval program for its remaining 2010 paediatric influenza vaccine

from medical clinics and distributors, " it said.

Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Jim Bishop, said a ban on healthy

children receiving the flu vaccine would remain in place.

He said only children at risk of serious health effects if they

contracted influenza would be considered for the injection, and even then

only after careful consideration.

Mr. Bishop said the investigation found the rate of febrile convulsion in

infants aged under five treated with Fluvax was about 9-in-1000.

" The expected rate would be less than 1-in-1000, " he said.

CSL said it had manufactured influenza vaccine for 40 years and the

company placed the utmost importance on patient safety and the quality of

its products.

" The reports we have seen this season in children under five are

unexpected and not consistent with our experience using previous seasons'

vaccines, " said Darryl Maher, CSL's medical and research director.

Mr. Bishop said laboratory testing of the vaccine by the TGA and an audit

of CSL's manufacturing plant had revealed no abnormalities to explain the

situation.

" However this investigation is continuing, " he said.

Doctors should also exercise caution using the Influvac vaccine,

manufactured by Solvay S.A., and Sanofi-Pasteur S.A.'s Vaxigrip on young

children because they haven't been used widely enough in Australia to

determine the rates of convulsions, Mr. Bishop said.

" Influenza itself often causes fever in young children which can

lead to convulsions and flu vaccine can also produce these side effects

but there is a clear signal that the rate of fever with convulsions is

higher with this year's vaccine across all jurisdictions, " he said.

It is dangerous to be right on a subject on which the established

authorities are wrong. ~ Voltaire

Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian

Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA

Vaccines -

http://vaccinationdangers.wordpress.com/ Homeopathy

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