The June 2009 issue of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) contains an editorial and three articles. The editorial discusses the new NICE document about end-of life drugs and its implications, such as the possible reduction in financial resources to elsewhere. An accompanying podcast via our website www.dtb.bmj.com discusses this further. The issue also includes an article on the management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a review of the new gamma-interferon tests for tuberculosis, and the fourth in a series of Understanding Statistical Terms articles, this one covering terms related to diagnostic tests. A podcast outlining what is in the June issue is also available via our website.
MORE than 150 girls in Scotland have suffered adverse reactions after receiving the cervical cancer vaccine introduced last autumn, The Scotsman can reveal.
Campaigners are calling for the vaccination programme to be suspended, claiming there are unanswered questions about the long-term effectiveness and safety of Cervarix. They are concerned that official information refers to mild side-effects, when some girls have reported serious reactions to the jab.
The families of six girls in England are suing GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the maker of Cervarix, after the girls suffered severe reactions resulting in partial paralysis, seizures and chronic fatigue. The Scotsman has learned two more have contacted the same solicitor after suffering severe painful swelling of joints.
The Scottish Government and GSK insist the number of adverse reactions experienced is in line with any mass vaccination programme. However, an investigation by The Scotsman has also discovered the guidance sent out on the £64 million vaccination programme was changed in several respects before being distributed to parents – after the intervention of a drug company.
http://www.scotsman.com/latestnews/Fears-over-reactions-to-cervical.5319871.jp