Rabies vaccine recalled but health danger denied
- Source: Global Times
- [08:11 December 09 2009]
- Comments
By Xu Shenglan
The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) Tuesday calmed public fears that a problematic rabies vaccine contains a "live virus" that can cause serious health problems or even death in humans and poultry.
The government denied a Chongqing Morning News report of a "live virus" in seven batches of the rabies vaccine, saying the problem was quality control and effectiveness, not dangers to public health.
Yan Jiangying, a spokesperson for the SFDA, said the unqualified vaccine was being recalled because its density and effectiveness were below national standards, not because the vaccine is harmful to human health.
To date, no adverse cases have been reported.
Yan dismissed the December 5 newspaper report, saying, "The rabies vaccine now used in China is inactivated, which means it is made from vero cells and hamster kidney cells, so it's not a live virus."
She said that monitoring tests for effectiveness of the rabies vaccine in human beings are more difficult than for other vaccines, because the clinical trials are more demanding and the validation period is shorter.
Seven batches of low-quality rabies vaccine, consisting of 215,800 doses entered Anhui, Chongqing, Guangdong and 26 other provinces. About 210,000 doses of the vaccines were administered, according to the spokesperson.
The authorities were recalling the rest.
