Update on Menactra® and Guillain-Barré syndrome
An update on the reported occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after vaccination with a tetravalent conjugated meningococcal vaccine (Menactra®)1 in the United States was presented. As of September 2006, a total of 17 cases had been reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System as occurring within 6 weeks after vaccination. Analysis of the data suggests that there may be a small increased risk (1.25 cases per million doses distributed; 95% confidence interval, 0.058–5.993) of GBS after vaccination with Menactra®, but this finding should be viewed with caution, given the limitations of the reporting system and the uncertainty regarding background incidence rates of GBS.
1. See No. 2, 2006, pp. 15-18