Wednesday, November 05, 2014
SCIENTISTS in Denmark say they have found genetic clues to explain why a small number of children have febrile seizures — brief convulsions — after receiving the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
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| Vacine : File |
They stressed there was no need to scrap the MMR vaccine -- caught in a health scare in 1998 that watchdogs later declared groundless — and described its use as a "great achievement" in saving lives.
Reporting in the journal Nature Genetics, the team found that febrile seizures occurred in roughly one in every 1,000 children who were given the MMR vaccine.
Two genetic variants came to light that pointed to a higher risk of a febrile seizure in the second week following MMR vaccination, they said.
They lie on genes that play an important role in how the immune system reacts to viral intruders.
Febrile seizures are the term for when a child develops spasms, a high temperature and loses consciousness.
The episode usually lasts for a minute or two, but apart from causing alarm for parents and the need for a check-up afterwards, is typically not dangerous.
A known but rare side effect of vaccination or viral infection, febrile seizures are different from epileptic seizures, which occur without fever. more
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