Vaccine Adverse Events Reported during the First Ten Years (1998–2008) after Introduction in the State of Rondonia, Brazil

Despite good safety records, vaccines given to young children can cause adverse events. We investigated the reported adverse events following immunization (AEFI) of vaccines given to children of less than seven years of age during the first ten years (1998 to 2008) in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. We worked with the events related to BCG (Bacillus Calmett-Guérin), HB (hepatitis B), DTwP/Hib (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis+Hemophillus influenza b), DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), MMR (mumps, measles, rubella), and YF (yellow fever) vaccines because they were part of the recommended scheme. The number of doses of vaccines given was 3,231,567 with an average of AEFI of 57.2/year during the studied period. DTwP/Hib was responsible for 298 (57.8%), DTP 114 (22.9%), HB 31 (6%), MMR 28 (5.4%), BCG 24 (4.7%), and YF 20 (3.9%) of the reported AEFI. The combination of the AEFI for DTwP/Hib vaccines showed the highest number of systemic (61.4%) and local events (33.8%). Young children (≤1-year old) were more susceptible to AEFI occurring in the 6 hours (54.2%) following vaccine uptake. This study suggests significant differences in reactogenicity of vaccines and that despite limitations of the AEFI Brazilian registry system we cannot ignore underreporting and should use the system to expand our understanding of adverse events and effects.