Fresh off the heels of an announcement that at least 30 had died after taking the swine flu vaccination, Canadian authorities were told Tuesday to pull a batch of the H1N1 vaccine due to "severe allergic" reactions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) an unusual number of severe allergic reactions to the vaccination have been recorded in Canada, prompting authorities to recall a batch of the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
The Canadian authorities are conducting the appropriate investigations on the vaccines and recalled a batch of vaccine from GSK
"The Canadian authorities are conducting the appropriate investigations on the vaccines" and "recalled a batch of vaccine from GSK," WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham told AFP.
"We need to understand what happened in Canada," he added.
Reactions in heart and lungs
GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Gwenan White said that the affected doses of its Aprepanrix vaccine had caused reactions to the heart and lungs.
White added that some 172,000 doses are involved, although she declined to reveal how many of those had already been used.
GlaxoSmithKline have asked Canadian medical authorities to stop administering vaccines from the affected batch, White said, adding the company's investigations were ongoing.
WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham said that the WHO had not changed its recommendations regarding swine flu vaccines despite several reports of adverse side effects, including at least 30 deaths.
Vaccine deaths
Two cases of anaphylactic shock, one child experienced arthritis and two had seizures
Last week, the WHO said checks on many of the 30 deaths recorded following mass pandemic flu vaccinations had so far ruled out a direct link to the vaccines.
Britain's Daily Mail reported on Saturday that at least one person had died after being given the Pandemrix vaccination and a further 1,329 suffering adverse reactions in just four weeks.
Some of the most severe reactions to the injections include pain and swelling at the injection site and vomitting, dizziness and fever, the paper reported, adding there were also "two cases of anaphylactic shock, one child experienced arthritis and two had seizures."
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