Typhoid & Hepatitis A vaccines in Children
February 17th, 2016
Hepatitis A Virus
We have recently published world first research on the use of a combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccine in children.
In Australia, the use of combined vaccines in children 2-16 years of age is considered “off label”.
Separate vaccine ( the one for hepatitis A and the one for typhoid ) are licensed in Australia to be given from 2 years of age.
What we did
We studied 425 episodes of combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccine in children at our Travel Medicine Alliance clinics across Australia. Nurses rang the parents 3 days after vaccination and asked about side effects in their children. Reactions to combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccine were compared with reported reactions to the separate vaccines.
Results
No serious side effects were reported, and 26.8% did not experience any side effects.
The most common local reactions were sore arm (70.5%), redness (16.0%) and swelling (11.1%). Reports of local side effects from combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccines were significantly more common than those reported for the individual separate vaccines.
In the children who only received combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccines on that day (n = 236), the most common more general side effects were tiredness/lethargy/malaise (5.9%), headache (4.2%), fever (3.4%) and sore muscles and joints (3.4%). Fever was more common in children under 6 years of age. Less than 5% of children reported missing school, sport or other regular activities.
It is not entirely unexpected that the combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccines in children cause more of a sore arm compared to the individual vaccines, but this information helps parents decide whether the benefits of one less needle is worth it for their child.
Overall findings
The combined typhoid & hepatitis A vaccines given to children aged 2–16 years was well tolerated, and an acceptable option for children who require vaccination against both hepatitis A and typhoid. Parents now have a little more information about the side effects so they can make a more informed decision about travel vaccine options for their children.
Thank you, very helpful. Confirms what we’ve anecdotally found to be the case in using Vivaxim in children. The higher incidence of local side effects is worth knowing about.