Split virus wins flu vaccine battle
Friday May 28th, 2010
The two vaccines used to protect British children against swine flu had very different effects, according to an analysis published today.
One vaccine, known as a split virus vaccine, worked better on young children but caused more side-effects, according to a study of some 900 children.
Researchers
said it was the first study to compare the two vaccines directly in Britain.
The H1N1 swine flu virus was four times as likely to infect children as adults and spread rapidly through the UK's schools.
The split virus vaccine was cultured in eggs whilst the second vaccine, a non-adjuvanted whole virion vaccine came from cell culture.
The children in the study were allocated at random to receive one or other vaccine.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers say the split virus gave a bigger boost to the immune system than the whole virus, especially in children under the age of three.
It also provoked more reactions, such as fever and tenderness of the skin - but these were "generally" in line with those predicted by the manufacturer, according to researcher Matthew Snape, of Oxford University, UK.
British Medical Journal May 28 2010
Tags: Child Health | Flu & Viruses | UK News
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