SchaferAutismReport: Common Children's Vaccine Recalled

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Schafer Autism Report No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Reader Supported Vol. 11 No. 178p

DEADLINE FOR JANUARY 2008

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PUBLIC HEALTH

* Common Children's Vaccine Recalled

CARE

* Keeping Track Of Those You Love

* Mom Goes To Bar, Autistic Son Is Left At Home

* Autistic Man Had A Horror Of Rubber

RESEARCH

* Round 2: Turning Heterosexuality On and Off

PEOPLE

* Eye-stopper: 'Buy a Home For Autism'

TREATMENT

* BFAIR Opens Autism Resource Center, MA

COMMENTARY

* Vaccination Rules Make Sense

LETTERS

DECEMBER CALENDAR of EVENTS!

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Common Children's Vaccine Recalled

By Mike Stobbe and A. for the Associated Press.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20071212/APF/712120846

More than a million doses of a common vaccine given to babies as young

as 2 months were being recalled Wednesday because of contamination risks,

but the top U.S. health official said it was not a health threat.

The recall is for 1.2 million doses of the vaccine for Hib, which

protects against meningitis, pneumonia and other serious infections, and a

combination vaccine for Hib and hepatitis B. The vaccine is recommended for

all children under 5 and is usually given in a three-shot series, starting

at 2 months old.

Drug maker Merck & Co., which announced the recall after testing this

week showed a sterility problem in a Pennsylvania factory, said concerned

parents should contact their child's doctor.

" The potential for contamination of any individual vaccine is low, "

said Merck spokeswoman Kelley Dougherty.

Dr. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, echoed that in a news conference.

" This is not a health threat in the short run, but it is an

inconvenience, " she said.

Merck produces about half of the nation's annual supply of 14 million

doses of Hib vaccine.

Barbara Kuter, executive director of pediatric medical affairs for

Merck, told The Associated Press that because of the contamination, the

company's production line has been shut down for at least nine months.

" Manufacture of vaccines is pretty complicated, and we have to

basically make some changes in the process, " then get approval from the Food

and Drug Administration before resuming production and shipments, Kuter

said. Merck hopes to restart production in the fourth quarter of 2008, she

said.

" It's likely that there's going to be a shortage of this product, "

Kuter said, adding that the impact on the public is unclear because the

other company making the vaccine in the U.S., Sanofi Pasteur, may be able to

produce more.

Health officials said they already are talking about prioritizing

shots for American Indian and Alaska Native children, who are considered at

higher risk for Hib-caused illnesses, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of

the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Health officials said they did not know how many of the 1.2 million

doses were administered to children.

The recalled doses are considered potent, so children who got vaccine

from the recalled lots will not have to be revaccinated, Schuchat said.

Parents will probably be concerned, CDC officials acknowledged. Should

the vaccine later prove contaminated, health officials believe most children

will experience, at worst, a skin irritation around the vaccination site.

Problems could be worse for children with compromised immune systems.

Such problems would have appeared within one week of the vaccination,

Schuchat said, adding that there have been no reports suggesting vaccine

contamination so far.

The contamination involved unspecified equipment used in making the

vaccine, which involves taking concentrated Hib virus, diluting it and

combining it with other agents. Kuter said that during a routine evaluation

of Merck's West Point, Pa., vaccine plant, a sterility test determined that

the equipment was contaminated with a bacteria called Bacillus cereus, or B.

cereus.

It is a spore-making microorganism commonly associated with food

poisoning and has caused diarrhea and vomiting in people who eat

contaminated foods.

" It's one of the most common organisms " around, Kuter said.

The recall is likely to heighten a debate over childhood vaccines and

their safety and whether too many are required. Some parents are distrustful

and suspect some vaccines of being linked to autism, although scientific

studies have not shown such a connection.

+ Read more: http://www.theledger.com/article/20071212/APF/712120846

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