Adverse Events After Pandemic Flu A/H1N1 Vaccination In Children: Concern About Vaccine Safety

Abstract

Vaccination is essential tool for the management and control of infectious diseases. However, it can cause adverse events. After novel Pandemic (“swine”) flu virus A H1N1 rapid spread in 2009 all over the world and mass vaccination initiatives, the sudden increase in childhood narcolepsy with cataplexy in some countries has occurred. It stunned medical and public health society, and general population, what increased awareness of recorded side effects and vaccine safety. An integrative review of the literature was conducted and extra search of reports and documents was performed. Despite adverse events were recorded after vaccination against pandemic flu, side effects bear very small proportion of all vaccinated. Vaccination against swine flu can cause generalized, flu-like, neurological, gastrointestinal, and allergic-type symptoms. A more serious complication, which has been identified, is narcolepsy with cataplexy. The incidence of narcolepsy with cataplexy in children and adolescents in European countries increased during the pandemic and vaccination period. The use of adjuvants has been shown to provoke some adverse events. Vaccination safety remains a priority issue in vaccination science. It is of high importance to devout finances, to form vaccine policy, to coordinate vaccine research, and to promote vaccine investigation, creation, and improvements. Safe vaccination will encourage population and empower societies for wider usage of vaccination as the mean for flu control, especially in children.