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A new study confirms that the rotavirus
vaccine does indeed increase the risk of
intussusception, a rare form of intestinal blockage.
The vaccine was pulled from the market in 1999, after
nine reports of intussusception occurred
within the first 7 months of vaccine use,
more than double the cases reported in the previous seven years.
Intussusception occurs when the intestine telescopes
into itself, causing an obstruction of the bowel that is repaired surgically.
During the studies to support licensing of the rotavirus vaccine, only
5 cases of intussusception were reported among more than 10,000 infants
who received the vaccine.
Rotavirus is the number one cause of severe diarrhea
in infants and is responsible for countless visits to the doctor's office
and, sometimes, the emergency department.
An investigation of vaccinated infants confirms that
the vaccine
was indeed the cause of the complication.
Seventy-four infants out of a total of 426 infants
with intussusception had received the rotavirus vaccine, the report indicates,
and most of these infants had intussusception shortly after their vaccination.
Within the first 14 days after vaccination,
the risk of intussusception was 10 times
higher than normal, the authors report, and within the first
7 days after vaccination, the risk was 14 times higher than normal.
If the national rotavirus vaccination program were
to continue, the investigators estimate that the intussusception
rate would increase by 28%
to 57%, or an additional 361 to 732 cases per year.
The New England Journal
of Medicine February 22nd 2001; 344: 564-572
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