United States CDC announces an HPV vaccine recall

United States CDC announces an HPV vaccine recall:

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was informed by Merck on Monday that the pharmaceutical company planned to recall one lot of Gardasil [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant].

The CDC media statement released yesterday states that the recall is because a number of vials may contain glass particles as a result of breakage during the vaccine manufacturing process.

Merck estimates that approximately ten of the 743,360 vials in the affected lot J007354 could have glass particles in them. The vaccines from the affected lot were distributed between August 20, 2013, and October 9, 2013.

If a vaccine containing glass particles is given to a patient, reactions at the injection site routinely seen after vaccination may occur. Physicians should report any adverse events following vaccination to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).