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December 27, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Rare MMR Vaccine Reactions Often Due to Gelatin"

Reuters Health Information Services (www.reutershealth.com) (12/26/02)

The gelatin that is used as a heat stabilizer during the production of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine may be the cause of rare but severe allergic reactions to the vaccine.  In a new study published in the December online issue of the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Vitali Pool of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues report that 27 percent of the 22 individuals they studied with "possible" or "probable" severe allergic reactions to the MMR vaccine had antibodies to gelatin in their blood.  These antibodies were not detected in any of the 27 individuals with no history of serious MMR reaction.  Based on their results, the researchers recommend that anyone with a history of severe reaction to a gelatin-containing vaccine be tested for antibodies to gelatin and other allergens prior to getting another dose of any vaccine that uses gelatin.

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