Possible causes of negative reactions to measles vaccination

Doctors have released a preliminary statement on the possible causes of the adverse reactions to vaccination against measles in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports. 190 million tenge were spent to purchase the vaccines.

The final results will be announced in May when the examination conducted by interdepartmental work group are be ready. The group is composed of representatives of the Committee for Protection of Consumer Rights of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, national medical centers and WHO office in Kazakhstan.

190 million tenge (over 1 million) was spent to purchase the vaccines. But the measles vaccination campaign in Kazakhstan was suspended on February 19, 2015 after adverse events were registered following the immunization of persons aged 15-19 years. The suspension will continue until May 4. In the meanwhile the quality of the vaccine was found to be in compliance with the requirements of the regulative documents.

Chief State Sanitary Doctor Zhandarbek Bekshin presented the preliminary findings of the investigation on April 21.

“Preliminarily, we can say that there were 399 complaints after the vaccination. Of this number, 19 cases - 4.8 percent - had the reaction that can be expected after the vaccination. In 93 cases, sicknesses simply coincided with the period of vaccination; they were ordinary somatic diseases and in some cases exacerbated chronic cases. And in 287 cases, it was connected with the psycho-emotional state of adolescence. This includes teenagers registered who did not receive the vaccine but had similar symptoms," Bekshin said at the press conference in Astana.

Vice-Minister of Health and Social Development of Kazakhstan Alexey Tsoi said that an assessment of the appeals against the additional measles vaccination was made.

"It was established that they were associated with a set of organizational factors. Those were: lack of public awareness about the safety of the vaccines; lack of awareness about the expected normal reactions to the vaccine, such as headache, weakness, slight temperature rise, irritability; organizational and planning shortcomings, such as conducting vaccination in crowded places or in uncomfortable conditions," he said.

According to Tsoi, the list of complainants was dominated by teenage girls. "This is due to the peculiarities of adolescence, increased susceptibility, susceptibility to external influences, and emotional instability. There were also cases of overreaction by healthcare workers, which led to hospitalization of teenagers without express symptoms," Tsoi said.

Reporting by Assemgul Kassenova, writing by Dinara Urazova