| Vaccines > MMR >
MMR-DTP
Febrile
Seizures after
MMR and DTP Vaccinations
Measles,
Mumps, & Rubella - MMR
Vaccine
Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis - DTP Vaccine The August 30, 2001
issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published
a study entitled "The Risk of Seizures after Receipt of Whole-Cell Pertussis or
Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine" by William
E Barlow and colleagues.
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At a
glance: Parents
concerned about the link between childhood vaccinations and seizures
need not worry, according to the results of this study. The study
found that children who suffered rare fever-related seizures after
getting DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and whole-cell pertussis) and MMR
(measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccinations did not have an increased
risk for subsequent seizures or neurodevelopmental (e.g., learning)
disabilities. The study did confirm what was already known– that DTP
and MMR vaccinations can temporarily increase the risk for
fever-related, or what are called "febrile" seizures, in
some children. Since the period covered by this study, the use of
acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine has replaced DTP vaccine in the
United States. DTaP has been associated with fewer side effects than
DTP, including febrile seizures. |
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Jump
to descriptions of these topics: |
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Answers
to
questions
about the
study |
Answers
the following questions:
- What are febrile seizures and what
causes them?
- What are the health effects of
fever-related seizures?
- How often do fever-related
seizures happen after DTP and MMR vaccination?
- When do fever-related seizures
tend to happen?
- Given the risk of seizures, should
parents have their children vaccinated?
- What can be done to prevent
fever-related seizures following vaccination?
- What should you do if your child
has a seizure following a vaccination?
- Who conducted this study?
- How was the study done?
|
 MMR vaccine |
Printable
description of what MMR is, who should get the vaccine, what the risks
are, etc. (.pdf file - 44534
bytes)
|
| Measles disease |
Takes you to the Measles pages that
explain this disease along with related topics (i.e., description,
recommendations for prevention, history, etc.)
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| Mumps disease |
Takes you to the
Mumps pages that
explain this disease along with related topics
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Rubella disease
(German
Measles) |
Takes you to the Rubella pages that
explain this disease along with related topics
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| DTP
vaccine |
Printable
description of what DTP is (not to be
confused with DTaP), who should get the vaccine, what the risks
are, etc. (.pdf file - 48156 bytes) (text-reader
version)
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Diphtheria
disease |
Summary: VPD Surveillance Manual
Chapter 1 (v. 1999). In recent epidemics, the majority
of cases of diphtheria have occurred among adolescents
and adults, instead of children. Respiratory diphtheria
begins 2-5 days after...
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Tetanus
disease |
Summary: VPD Surveillance
Manual Chapter 13 (v. 1999). Tetanus: In spite of the availability of
tetanus toxoid (TT), tetanus continues to cause a substantial health
impact on the world...
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Pertussis
disease
(Whooping Cough) |
Summary: VPD Surveillance
Manual Chapter 8 (v. 1999). Pertussis (whooping cough) disease
description...
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Accessibility Note: The above .pdf links
will be available (by year end) in text-only format for text-readers. Until
then, please contact NIPINFO@cdc.gov
for assistance.
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