Vaccine Adverse Events Reported during the First Ten Years (1998–2008) after Introduction in the State of Rondonia, Brazil

Abstract

Despite good safety records, vaccines given to young children can cause adverse events. We investigated the reported adverse events following immunization (AEFI) of vaccines given to children of less than seven years of age during the first ten years (1998 to 2008) in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. We worked with the events related to BCG (Bacillus Calmett-Guérin), HB (hepatitis B), DTwP/Hib (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis+Hemophillus influenza b), DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), MMR (mumps, measles, rubella), and YF (yellow fever) vaccines because they were part of the recommended scheme. The number of doses of vaccines given was 3,231,567 with an average of AEFI of 57.2/year during the studied period. DTwP/Hib was responsible for 298 (57.8%), DTP 114 (22.9%), HB 31 (6%), MMR 28 (5.4%), BCG 24 (4.7%), and YF 20 (3.9%) of the reported AEFI. The combination of the AEFI for DTwP/Hib vaccines showed the highest number of systemic (61.4%) and local events (33.8%). Young children (≤1-year old) were more susceptible to AEFI occurring in the 6 hours (54.2%) following vaccine uptake. This study suggests significant differences in reactogenicity of vaccines and that despite limitations of the AEFI Brazilian registry system we cannot ignore underreporting and should use the system to expand our understanding of adverse events and effects.

Parental Approach to the Prevention and Management of Fever and Pain Following Childhood Immunizations: A Survey Study

“…This was similar to reports from passive surveillance systems in the US (VAERS-Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) 26 and other countries 27, 28 . Consistent with findings from prior surveys, our study demonstrates parental misunderstanding of the definition of fever threshold, as one-fifth of participants who measured the temperature considered readings of ≤ 100 °F (37.8 °C) to correspond to fever in the child.…”

Safety, immunization coverage and determinants of a new kind of Hepatitis B vaccine firstly applied in Ningbo, China

“…A group of data about HepB AEs summarized through a large database of reported adverse events following immunization (AEFI) during 10 years in Rondonia (a state of Brazil) is nearly to us. 29 Practical significance in this study can be regarded as the dominant aim. 10 mg HepB-HPY as a new vaccine for infants was firstly applied in Ningbo, China and also as a unique kind of HepB is supported by government which would be administrated to about 80,000 newborns every year.…”

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practice of Nurses on Surveillance of Adverse Events following Childhood Immunization in Nairobi, Kenya

“…Immunization of infants and young children against serious infectious diseases is the most successful and cost-effective intervention in preventative health care [1, 2]. However, vaccination occasionally leads to undesirable effects including adverse reactions that are referred to as adverse events following immunization (AEFI) [3].…”

“…53% of all WHO member countries reported having a national AEFI monitoring system [9]. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of vaccine safety surveillance [5, 10, 11] though such surveillance and follow-up infrastructure lags behind vaccine development in industrialized countries and is absent in most developing countries including Kenya [1]. …”