Unexpected loss of contact allergy to aluminium induced by vaccine.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

In studies in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the 1990s of an aluminium hydroxide-adsorbed pertussis toxoid vaccine, 745 of ~76 000 vaccinated children developed long-lasting itchy subcutaneous nodules at the vaccination site. Of 495 children with itchy nodules patch tested for aluminium allergy, 376 (76%) were positive.

OBJECTIVES:

To study the prognosis of the vaccine-induced aluminium allergy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Two hundred and forty-one children with demonstrated aluminium allergy in the previous study were patch tested again 5-9 years after the initial test, with the same procedure as used previously.

RESULTS:

Contact allergy to aluminium was no longer demonstrable in 186 of the retested 241 children (77%). A negative test result was more common in children who no longer had itching at the vaccination site; it was also related to the age of the child, the time after the first aluminium-adsorbed vaccine dose, and the strength of the reaction in the first test.

CONCLUSIONS:

Patch test reactivity to aluminium seems to disappear or weaken with time.

• Authors: Anette Gente Lidholm, Elisabet Bergfors, Annica Inerot, Ulla Blomgren, Martin Gillstedt, Birger Trollfors
• Journal: Contact dermatitis (Contact Dermatitis) Vol. 68 Issue 5 Pg. 286-92 (May 2013) ISSN: 1600-0536 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23601064 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Chemical References

• Adjuvants, Immunologic
• Aluminum Compounds
• Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines

Topics

• Adjuvants, Immunologic (administration & dosage)
• Adolescent
• Aluminum Compounds (administration & dosage)
• Child
• Dermatitis, Allergic Contact (immunology, prevention & control)
• Desensitization, Immunologic
• Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines (administration & dosage, immunology)
• Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Patch Tests
• Prognosis
• Time Factors