A 14-year old British schoolgirl died on Monday shortly after receiving a vaccine against the human papilloma virus (HPV), the most common cause of cervical cancer.
The girl was a pupil at Blue Coat Church of England School and Music College in Coventry and was given the Cervarix anti-cancer jab as part of a national programme to immunise teenage girls against cervical cancer.
Dr Caron Grainger, Joint Director of Public Health for NHS Coventry and Coventry City Council, told the press that the girl was taken to Coventry’s University Hospital shortly after she took ill, but sadly she died later that day.
“Our sympathies are with the girl’s family and friends at this difficult time,” said Grainger, explaining that although the incident happened shortly after the girl received the vaccine:
“No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post mortem takes place.”
Meanwhile, as a precautionary step, NHS Coventry have quarantined the batch of vaccine that was used, and the regulatory authority has been informed, said Grainger, adding that.
“We are conducting an urgent and full investigation into the events surrounding this tragedy.”
In a letter to parents dated Monday, headteacher of the co-educational school, Dr Julie Roberts, wrote that during the vaccination session “an unfortunate incident occurred” and one of the girls suffered a “rare, but extreme reaction to the vaccine”.
Roberts, who was newly appointed this term, wrote in her letter that a number of other girls “also reported being unwell and some were sent home”, and urged parents of all girls who had received the vaccination to be “extra vigilant” of any signs or symptoms.
The most common adverse reaction after Cervarix is supposed to be a mild to moderate short lasting pain at the site of the injection, although other reactions may also include headache, muscle pain, fatigue and a low grade fever.
Roberts urged any parents who may be concerned about their daughter’s reaction to the vaccine to contact their own GP.
Since September 2008 there has been a national programme in the UK to vaccinate girls aged 12 to 13 against HPV, and there is also a three-year catch up campaign that will offer the vaccine to 13 to 18 year olds.
The NHS said the plan is to deliver the vaccination, which comprises three injections over six months, mainly through secondary schools.
The HPV is one of a family of viruses that affects the skin and mucosa, the moist membranes that line the body, for example the cervix (the neck of the womb in a woman’s body), the anus, mouth and throat.
There are more than 100 types of HPV, and of these about 40 affect the genital area, some high risk and some low. Some types of HPV that affect the genital area cause abnormal tissue growth (pre-cancerous lesions) that can lead to cancer. Other types can cause genital warts.
About 3,000 women are diagnsed with cervical cancer in the UK every year, and about 1,000 die from it.
The types of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer are transmitted sexually. Although Cervarix only protects against two strains of HPV, these are the two that cause more than 70 per cent of cervical cancers.
The vaccination is not compulsory, and according to a report from the BBC about a million girls are thought have received it safely in the UK.
When the NHS selected Cervarix many people were surprised, thinking they would opt for Gardasil, the vaccine used by most other countries, including the US.
The tragedy prompted Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to call for an urgent investigation into the tragic death, and repeat his urge to the government to reveal the results of the assessments comparing Cervarix and Gardasil that led them to choose the former when most other countries chose the latter.
Dr Pim Kon, the medical director at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) UK, the company that makes Cervarix, told the press that their deepest sympathies were with the family and friends of the young girl who died. According to a report from the BBC, Kon added that:
“We are working with the Department of Health and MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) to better understand this case, as at this stage the exact cause of this tragic death is unknown.”
According to GSK, the vast majority of suspected adverse reactions to Cervarix have either been in connection with recognized side effects or due to the injection process and not the vaccine itself.
Sources: Coventry NHS, Blue Coat School, BBC News.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD