Vaccination, seizures and 'vaccine damage'

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Concerns about the safety of vaccination have plagued the community, with reduction in vaccine uptake resulting in increased risk of epidemics. Vaccination has been implicated in the cause of febrile seizures, 'vaccine encephalopathy' and autistic spectrum disorders. Evaluation of alleged associations is complicated by evolution in the vaccination field. This review focuses on the risk of seizures following vaccination and the alleged associations of vaccination with vaccine encephalopathy and also with autism spectrum disorders. RECENT FINDINGS: Over the last decade the introduction of new vaccines such as the acellular pertussis vaccine has produced a reduction in seizur..