A Study on the Adverse Events of the Yellow Fever Vaccine at an International Travelers' Clinic / 감염과화학요법

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Yellow fever (YF) can be prevented through vaccination, but YF vaccination causes adverse events. The increasing number of travelers to YF-endemic areas prompted an investigation of YF vaccination's adverse events on Koreans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to December 2007, 318 live-17DD vaccinees at the International Travelers' Clinic of the National Medical Center were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: The adverse events were evaluated through six telephone interviews of 309 subjects (male 168, 54.4%) on days 3, 6, 9, 16, 23, and 30 after the administration of the vaccine. There were 106 adverse events in 97 (31.4%) subjects aged 11 months to 70 years (male 56, 18.1%). Of the 34 (11.0%) subjects who had underlying diseases, 3 (1.0%) reported adverse events (P=0.06). Nineteen (6.1%) of the 72 (23.3%) subjects who concurrently received other vaccines also experienced adverse events (P=0.29). Those who had underlying illnesses and those aged 10 to 19 years reported more frequent adverse events (P=0.06 and 0.14, respectively), but the significance of this finding is uncertain. Most of the adverse events occurred within 10 days after the vaccination and spontaneously subsided. CONCLUSION: This study shows that most of the YF vaccine's adverse events are well tolerated and that the vaccine safely protects a vaccinee from YF.