Gardasil not likely to be allergic: Study

Melbourne, Australia, December 3: Allergic reactions to Gardasil, the premium cervical cancerdefine vaccine from Merck & Co, are uncommon and atypical, a new Australian study has revealed.

Approved in United States in 2006, the vaccine was allegedly blamed for triggering allergic reactions like hives, skin rash and swelling.

In Australia, over 380,000 doses of the vaccine were administered as part of a national immunization program. Beginning 2007, all females aged 12 to 26 were required to receive the prescribed three-shots of the vaccine.

To determine if the allergic link actually existed, researchers at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia zeroed in on 25 schoolgirls with suspected hypersensitivity to the vaccine. They too were administered vaccine under the immunization program.

The short listed girls then went through an array of skin prick and injection tests. Interestingly, only 3 of the 25 women tested reportedly developed allergic reactions when re-exposed to the vaccine.

"Only three of the 25 evaluated schoolgirls had probable hypersensitivity to the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine after 380,000 doses had been administered in schools," study’s lead author, Dr. Sharon Choo from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, wrote in the British Medical Journal.

In the 3 hypersensitivity cases, the vaccine ingredients - aluminum salts and yeast – were found to trigger the allergic reactions.

Although the study clears the vaccine from any allergy causing issues, Choo recommends a trail test for suspected hypersensitivity patients. He stated, "Our clinical recommendation is that females with suspected hypersensitivity to the quadrivalent vaccine should be evaluated before receiving more doses, and any challenges with the same vaccine should be carried out in a supervised setting."

Similar allegations aired in United States too. Of the 375,000 officially administered doses, 10,326 cases of adverse events were reported between Aug. 2006 and July 2008. However, a follow-up review carried out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave an all-clear stating the "young women given Gardasil were no more likely than usual to faint, have an allergic reaction, blood clot or other adverse reaction".

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted virus is often transmitted through unprotected sexual activity. The infection is the leading cause of developing cervical and uterine cancers in women.

Gardasil targets four strains of the human papillomavirus namely, type 6, type 11, type 16 and type 18 that together account for nearly 20,000 HPV caused cancers annually.

While the vaccine helps prevent the initial establishment of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, it cannot, however, stop the growth of pre-existing infections.