Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

------------------------------------------------------------

September 11, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Routine Smallpox Vaccine Risky for Eczema Patients"

Reuters Health Information Services (www.reutershealth.com)

(09/10/02)

In a study in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers report that given increasing numbers of people with eczema, possibly as much as 50 percent of the U.S. population may not be eligible for routine smallpox shots.  People with eczema--as well as people with AIDS and those on immune system-suppressing drugs--are vulnerable to the vaccinia virus, which is used in the vaccines.  Eczema patients who are exposed to vaccinia either through the vaccine or via contact with someone who was recently vaccinated can develop a condition that results in scarring, blindness, and possibly death.  In their report, Dr. Renata J.M. Engler and colleagues from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., call for more research into clinical markers for the identity of vulnerable people and how people with asthma respond to the vaccinia vaccination.

Vaccination News Home Page

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.