Typhoid vaccine recall affects more than 700,000 people
Patients receive medication at a typhoid screening and treatment centre setup in a temporary tent at a clinic in the Kuwadzana township, on January 24, 2012, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Doctors reported at least 800 cases in a typhoid outbreak in the Zimbabwean capital.
As many as 729,606 people who received typhoid vaccinations might not be fully immunized against typhoid, BBC News reported. Drug manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur MSD has recalled 88 percent of its stock after British drug regulators found that many of its typhoid vaccines are too weak. Anyone who received the vaccine after January 2011 could be affected.
British officials stress that the vaccines in and of themselves do not pose any health risks, the United Kingdom Press Association reported. However, the typhoid vaccinations are flawed because they may not actually achieve their purpose of providing effective protection from typhoid. Whoops.
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Not all doses in the 16 batches recalled were found to be "under-powered," the Daily Telegraph reported. However, Sanofi decided to go ahead and recall all the batches after finding that too many were not potent enough. Worse is that those who received a defective dose will not be allowed to get another vaccination, because revaccination within three years is "not recommended," according to the Telegraph.
"Anyone who has been to a typhoid region of the world and has a fever, abdominal pain and vomiting should contact a healthcare professional," the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement to the BBC.
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