Federal health officials are looking into whether a flu vaccine is causing young children to have fever-related seizures.
Fluzone — which is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis SA of France and contains three inactivated or dead influenza viruses — is the only flu vaccine recommended this season for children under age 2. In a news release, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted a recent increase in reports to authorities of febrile seizures following vaccinations with Fluzone.
The reported seizures “have primarily been seen” in babies and toddlers younger than 2 years of age, the release said. All of the cases occurred within 24 hours of the vaccine being administered. Federal authorities, though, aren’t changing their flu vaccine recommendation while they investigate the issue, noting that in the reported seizure cases, “all children recovered and no lasting effects have been seen.”
According to the Boston Globe, “febrile seizures associated with vaccines are still very rare, occurring less than 1 percent of the time. In fact, more kids experience them from high fevers than from vaccines: About 4 percent of children have a febrile seizure at least once in their lifetime, usually before five years of age.”
Earlier this month, the FDA issued a safety alert about another Sanofi product, the heart drug Multaq, after receiving reports of two cases of acute liver failure in patients taking the medication. The agency ordered that a warning be put on the drug’s label about the potential risk.
