Aluminium in vaccine cleared as ADR cause
Researchers have found no evidence that aluminium salts in vaccines cause any serious or long-lasting adverse events.
Tom Jefferson, of the Cochrane Vaccines Field, Rome, and colleagues reviewed
eight studies for evidence of adverse events in children after exposure
to aluminium-containing diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines. The
studies reviewed included three randomised controlled trials, four controlled
clinical trials and one cohort study. The researchers found that, compared
with vaccines containing no aluminium, those with aluminium adjuvants
caused more local reactions (odds ratio 1.12, 95 per cent confidence
interval 0.85–1.48). However, overall, these vaccines resulted
in fewer adverse reactions up to 24 hours after vaccination (0.21, 0.15–0.28).
The researchers say that aluminium has been blamed for causing a number
of adverse reactions but they “doubt whether there is sufficient
evidence to support further research on the topic” (Lancet Infectious Diseases 2004;4:84). |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal