Cervical Cancer Vaccine May Have Caused Death Of British Girl
Posted on: Tuesday, 29 September 2009, 13:25 CDT
Health authorities are working alongside British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline in an effort to investigate the death of a schoolgirl following a cervical cancer vaccination, AFP reported.
Following an adverse reaction to the Cervarix vaccine, the 14-year-old girl died on Monday after participating in a national vaccination program that is being carried out in England to protect women against the disease.
Health authorities have since isolated the batch of vaccine used in the school.
The Cervarix vaccine is used to protect young women from the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that is the primary cause of cervical cancer.
Dr. Caron Grainger, joint head of public health for the National Health Service (NHS) in Coventry and Coventry City Council, said the incident happened shortly after the girl had received her HPV vaccine in the school.
"No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post-mortem takes place," she added.
Grainger said they are conducting an urgent and full investigation into the events surrounding the girl’s death.
GSK, which produces Cervarix, released a statement saying it was working with health authorities to better understand the case, as at this stage the exact cause of the tragic death is unknown.
The company said that as a precautionary measure, the batch of vaccine involved has been quarantined until the situation is fully understood.
However, the statement also noted that over 1.4 million doses of Cervarix have been given in Britain.
"To date the vast majority of suspected adverse reactions (to Cervarix) have related either to the signs and symptoms of recognized side effects listed in the product information or were due to the injection process and not the vaccine itself," the statement said.
Earlier this year, the death of British reality television star Jade Goody flagged the importance of women having regular cervical smear tests as she herself was dying of the disease.
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Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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