The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7179 p873-877
22-29 December 2001

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No new evidence to change official advice on BSE risk and vaccines

An investigation into five cases of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee has not revealed any evidence that warrants changing the Committee on Safety of Medicines's recent assessment of the BSE risks associated with a recalled oral polio vaccine (OPV), says the Department of Health.

The investigation followed the finding that two of the cases of vCJD received OPV from the same batch. The vaccine was later recalled as a precautionary measure because it was found to contain United Kingdom sourced bovine material and therefore did not comply with European guidelines (PJ, 28 October, 2000, p638).

At the time of the recall the CSM concluded that it was unlikely that there would be any BSE risk associated with the vaccine. The SEAC stresses that any theoretical risk must be balanced against the overwhelming benefits of the immunisation programme.

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