Israeli Health Ministry halts flu vaccine while investigating 4 deaths

[natielkin]

JERUSALEM Israel's Health Ministry halted the administration of flu vaccines on Sunday after three people who were inoculated died, a spokeswoman said. A fourth died later, Israeli media reported.

The ministry is investigating whether the deaths are connected to the vaccines, said Inbal Jacobs, a ministry spokeswoman. Israel Radio reported the three people who died over the past few days were from the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Gat, and that all had previously suffered from illnesses.

At a news conference, Heath Minister Yaakov Ben-Yizri said, "They were suffering from various illnesses, so that the team that has checked it so far has not found any connection between this tragedy and the vaccinations."

Later Sunday, Israeli media reported a fourth person died after receiving a flu shot ? a man in another part of the country who was suffering from a chronic illness.

The vaccines were manufactured by the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis and distributed by the Israeli company Medici. Israel's Army Radio reported that the Health Ministry had asked the pharmaceutical company to check its laboratories.

Israel's Channel 10 TV reported from a Heath Ministry briefing that it was very unlikely that the deaths were related directly to the vaccine, and flu shots might be resumed as early as Monday.

(rpm/ml)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/22/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Flu_Vaccines.php

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Israeli Health Ministry halts flu vaccine after three people die

Re: Israeli Health Ministry halts flu vaccine after three people die

Thanks Nati. Were they elderly?

 

[Niko]

4th death

4th death

4th person dies after receiving flu shot
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Oct. 22, 2006

The Health Ministry has temporarily halted vaccination of the population against influenza after the deaths of four people - all heart patients - from cardiac causes between one and five days after they received their shots.

Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri, who briefed the press in an urgent meeting after the news was released on Sunday night, said the halt in vaccinations was only a safety measure, as so far, "no connection" had been found between the Pasteur Institute vaccine and the tragedy.

Over 140,000 Israelis - all at high or very high risk of complications from the flu - have been vaccinated during the past few weeks. It has not been made available to the general population or people of lower risk because of the temporary world shortage of vaccine that is due to be resolved in early November. As a result of the infirm population that received the vaccine first, it was almost certainly a coincidence that the four people died.

One victim was a 67-year-old resident of Petah Tikva who was vaccinated at a Kupat Holim Meuhedet clinic in the city. The others were 52, 70 and 75 years old, and were all residents of Kiryat Gat who were vaccinated at the same Kupat Holim Leumit clinic in their city.

The ministry is very worried that the tragedies will discourage people at risk for complications of the flu - especially pneumonia - from getting vaccinated when the decision is reversed and adequate supplies of the vaccine become available. Avoidance of vaccination by high-risk individuals - the elderly, children aged six months to two years, and people of any age with chronic disease or weak immune systems - could result in many deaths.

Ministry officials are considering the possibility of organizing a well-photographed event in which Ben-Yizri and other ministry personnel will receive flu shots after the vaccine is found not to have been involved, in order to persuade the public that it is safe.

Every year, over 330 million people around the world get flu shots supplied by the Pasteur Institute in France and the Chiron company in North America.

Ben-Yizri said that as soon as the ministry learned of the first three deaths, it sent epidemiologists and other public health experts from the Ashkelon district health office to investigate.

The three Kiryat Gat residents were buried without an autopsy.

The ministry learned only Sunday about the fourth death, in Petah Tikva, and officials hope to persuade the family to allow an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

"We always purchase vaccine from the same sources. We have contacted them and asked them to investigate," the minister said, adding that he hoped more information would be available on Monday so the decision could be reversed.

Dr. Avraham Eitan, deputy director-general for medical services of Leumit, said that all the three patients vaccinated in Kiryat Gat had known chronic diseases.

"Because of the time and place in common and the fact that they all received the shots in the same clinic, we suggested to the ministry that vaccinations be temporarily halted."

All three had received flu shots in previous years with no unusual symptoms.

The Health Ministry, aware that people who have been vaccinated in recent weeks may become panicked by the possibility that they could die from it, advised anyone in this situation to see his doctor. As before, anyone with acute symptoms of a heart attack should go to a hospital emergency room.

The ministry, in cooperation with the health funds, will answer questions from the public about flu vaccine. The open phone line, at 03-563-4715, will be open between noon and 2 p.m.


This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193495761&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

 

[natielkin]

Taiwan halts flu vaccine after four Israelis die

Taiwan halts flu vaccine after four Israelis die

Taiwan on Monday ordered a halt to the use of a flu vaccine imported from France following reports that four Israeli people died after receiving the vaccine, officials said. "Before we have clear information over the safety on the use of the vaccine made by Sanofi-Aventis, we are halting the use of the vaccine effectively immediately," said Chou Chih-hua, deputy director of the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

He said no more shots of Sanofi-Aventis vaccine would be given, even though there have been no local reports of illness or fatality from some 300,000 people who have received the vaccine free since last month.

CDC has imported 1.13 million does of the flu vaccine in question this year. News reports said four people in the Israeli town of Kiryat Gat, aged from 56 to 72, died of heart problems in the past week. Health authorities in Israel are investigating if the vaccine has anything to do with their death, the reports said.

Chou said the CDC has been trying to contact the French pharmaceutical company and the CDC's overseas offices since learning of the deaths in Israel.

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Taiwan_halts_flu_vaccine_after_four_10232006.html

 

[sara.smiles]

Four Die Soon After Receiving Flu Shots In Israel

Four Die Soon After Receiving Flu Shots In Israel

Four Die Soon After Receiving Flu Shots In Israel
23 Oct 2006

After four people died within six days of receiving their influenza vaccinations, Israel's Health Ministry decided to halt the flu vaccine program. An investigation is underway to check whether the shots and deaths are linked.

The Health Ministry just announced it is sure the shots and four deaths are not linked.

The four people who died were all elderly and suffered from chronic diseases. They had all been vaccinated at a Kiryat Gat clinic. An autopsy found that one of the victims had died of heart disease. However, doctors who carried out the autopsy could not rule out the possibility that the vaccine may have interfered with the patient's heart.

A Health Ministry doctor described the four deaths as 'a statistical phenomenon'.

Sanofi-Aventis, the makers of the vaccine, are sending a team of experts from France.

A Sanofi-Aventis spokesman stressed that the vaccines had passed vigorous safety checks, not only in Israel, but also in France.

Ministry of Health, Isreal

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=54829