Study of adverse events of A/H1N1 vaccine among health care staff in selected provinces of Afghanistan, 2010.
At the end of March 2010 an A/H1N1 vaccination campaign was conducted in Afghanistan using donated vaccines. However, no surveillance system for detection of adverse events following immunization was in place. We report a cross-sectional, descriptive survey in 4 provinces of Afghanistan to assess the rate of adverse events among health care staff immunized with A/H1N1 monovalent vaccine 4 weeks after vaccination. Using random sampling proportionate to size, 350 staff (mean age 36 years, range 16-65 years) were surveyed using a questionnaire. The highest self-reported rates of adverse events were pain at the injection site (53%), fever in the first 3 days after immunization (40%), body pain (39%), tiredness (33%), swelling at the injection site (29%) and redness at the injection site (28%). More females than males suffered adverse reactions and the rates varied across different provinces, ranging from 79% in Balkh to 23% in Kabul.
Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network. jmofleh@yahoo.com
J A
JA
Mofleh
Z
Z
Akbarian
N
N
Muserat
H
H
Yosofi
A
A
Alkozai
B
B
Noormal
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000346:Afghanistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D007252:Influenza Vaccines