CDC FINDS MERCK'S ROTAVIRUS VACCINE TO BE SAFE

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new safety data on Merck's RotaTeq rotavirus vaccine showing that the vaccine does not pose an elevated risk for intussusception, the most common cause of bowel obstruction in infants.

The FDA approved Merck's vaccine in February 2006. The vaccine is recommended for infants. Last month, the FDA announced it had received reports of intussusception, where the intestine becomes blocked, following RotaTeq vaccination. Since then the CDC has concluded that the number of intussusception reports has not exceeded the number expected to occur without vaccination, and that the problem does not appear to be linked with the vaccine.

RotaTeq is the only vaccine approved in the U.S. for prevention of rotavirus disease, according to the CDC's announcement. GlaxoSmithKline also makes a rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix, which is available elsewhere in North America.