The vaccines used under the Immunization Programme are safe and effective. However, as no vaccine is 100% effective, none is entirely without risk. The benefits of immunization greatly exceed the risks because of the large number of complications and deaths prevented. Although, the risks of vaccine-associated adverse events are extremely low, the occurrence of such events in areas with high immunization coverage levels and low incidence of vaccine preventable diseases can influence public acceptance of immunization services. Moreover, since infections and neurological syndromes are common in the age-groups in which immunizations are given and there are a number of contacts with an infant under the programme, there is a risk of temporally-related severe adverse medical events being attributed to immunization. Monitoring of adverse events is essential to document low risks and to identify programmatic errors, if any, for corrective action. An important, aim of the monitoring system is to disseminate such information to the medical professionals and others associated with the immunization programme. The paper summarizes reports received in 1990, including reports of temporal events where the cause of death was other than immunization.

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine↗

PubMed1991

Toxic shock syndrome: an unforeseen complication following measles vaccination.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Diarrhea↗

PubMed1991

Elimination of neonatal tetanus: 1995.

India aims at the elimination of neonatal tetanus by 1995 by providing TT immunization services to all pregnant women in the country. Strengthening of the surveillance system is part of the strategy for the elimination of neonatal tetanus. There is a wide range of performance at state and district level. Many states have the potential of achieving the difficult and challenging goal of neonatal tetanus elimination within a few years.

Female↗

PubMed1989

The expanded programme on immunization: a decade of progress in India.

The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was initiated in India in 1978 with the objective to reduce morbidity and mortality from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis and childhood tuberculosis by providing immunization services to all eligible children and pregnant women by 1990. Measles vaccine was included when the EPI was accelerated by launching the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) in 1985-6. Approximately half of all infants now receive complete primary immunization with diphtheria, polio and tetanus (DPT), oral polio vaccine (OPV) and BCG vaccine. Forty-six per cent of pregnant women currently receive a second or booster dose of tetanus toxoid (TT). Surveillance reports from selected areas have documented impact through reduction of disease incidence. Although vaccination coverage levels are increasing, continued acceleration is needed to achieve the universal levels targeted for 1990.

Bacterial Vaccines↗

PubMed1989

Immunogenicity in monkeys of two polio type 3 seed viruses (SO + 2 and SOR + 1) presently used for production of oral polio vaccine.

Rhesus monkeys were immunized orally and intramuscularly with polio type 3 seed viruses (SO + 2 and SOR + 1). No immune response was detected after oral feeding. Geometric mean titres of 891.4 and 237.02 were obtained after intramuscular administration of six and eight doses of SO + 2 and SOR + 1 respectively. All the monkeys immunized with SO + 2 and SOR + 1 were positive for antibodies after third and fifth dose respectively. High antibody titre (1:1024) was reached in 80 per cent monkeys after sixth dose with SO + 2 whereas this antibody titre was obtained in 20 per cent monkeys after eight doses of SOR + 1. SOR + 1 was found to be a poor immunogen as compared to SO + 2 as it had produced low titre antibody response in monkeys even after administration of eight doses.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1989

Poliomyelitis surveillance and vaccine efficacy in Bombay, 1982-87.

Reported are updated data on poliomyelitis surveillance in Bombay for the period 1982-87 and estimates of the efficacy of oral poliovaccine (OPV) calculated by the case exposure method, using two approaches. The first, a screening technique that used only data on the reported number of doses of vaccine administered and the immunization status of all poliomyelitis cases, appeared to underestimate the true vaccine efficacy. In the more rigorous second technique, which used data for children of the same age group, geographical areas, and study year, obtained from immunization coverage surveys, and information on the immunization status of poliomyelitis cases, the results indicate that the OPV vaccine efficacy for fully immunized children aged 12-23 months exceeded 90%. These findings show that the estimated efficacy of OPV is high in Bombay and that, in general, vaccine efficacy should be re-estimated using more rigorous techniques if preliminary screening estimates indicate a lower than expected efficacy. In Bombay, poliomyelitis therefore results primarily from a failure to fully vaccinate all eligible children rather than as a result of vaccine failure. Furthermore, the age distribution of cases suggests that the strategy of focusing immunization activities on children aged under 1 year is epidemiologically correct.

Child↗

PubMed1988

Stability of oral polio vaccine at different temperatures.

The stability of five batches of oral polio vaccine stored at -20, 4-8, 22 and 36 degrees C for 7, 14 and 21 days was studied. The virus titrations were performed by the standard macro-method. There was little loss in virus titre when samples were kept at -20 and 4-8 degrees C for 21 days, whereas the samples exposed to 36 degrees C for 21 days showed almost complete loss in virus titre. The average loss in virus titre in a year (log TCID50) was 0.47 at -20 degrees C and 0.65 at 4-8 degrees C when various samples were stored at these temperatures. At 22 degrees C the average loss in virus titre after 21 days was about 1.50. The samples subjected to ten cycles of freezing and thawing did not show any loss in virus titre. Likewise there was not much loss in virus titre in three samples stored at 4-8 degrees C for a year. Oral polio vaccine stabilized with magnesium chloride is quite a stable vaccine and maintenance of a proper cold chain is recommended for the delivery of a potent vaccine in countries with high ambient temperature.

Drug Stability↗

PubMed1988