Incidence of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) among infants after immunization with primary doses of scheduled vaccines in district Srinagar (J&K)

Abstract

Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine. However, like other medicinal products, vaccines are not free from adverse reactions. AEFI is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the usage of the vaccine. The reporting of AEFI’s from the routine system is inadequate due to many reasons. Hence this study was conducted to throw some light and provide the baseline data. To find out the incidence of adverse events following immunization among infants in District Srinagar. It was a prospective study in which parents of infants receiving vaccines were contacted telephonically after specified time intervals to verify the occurrence of adverse events. The children were followed till 30 days of the administration of vaccines up to measles rubella vaccine. The incidence of AEFI reported in this study was 23.03% with 95% CI (22.24% to 23.85%). The most frequently reported AEFI was Fever (54.90%, n=1322), followed by Diarrhea (8.30%, n=200) and Vomiting (8.14%, n=196). AEFI were more in frequency during first week of receiving vaccine and most of the parents of children did not report AEFI after 7 days after vaccination. This study reveals that most of the vaccines associated adverse reactions were of mild and non-serious type and rarely of serious nature, yet proper monitoring of vaccine associated adverse reactions; is too essential. Proper and complete reporting of AEFI’s by field workers needs to be encouraged.