Measles Virus Vaccine Side Effects

Brand Names: Attenuvax

Please note - some side effects for Measles Virus Vaccine may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

Side Effects of Measles Virus Vaccine - for the Consumer

Measles Virus Vaccine

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Measles Virus Vaccine:

Burning or stinging at the injection site; diarrhea; dizziness; general unwell feeling; headache; irritability; mild fever; tiredness.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); fainting; loss of coordination; mental or mood changes; numbness or tingling in the fingers or toes; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin; seizures; unusual bruising or bleeding; vision or hearing changes.

Side Effects by Body System

Local

Local side effects have included injection site burning/stinging, wheal and flare, erythema, swelling, and vesiculation.

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity reactions have included anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid reactions, angioneurotic edema (including peripheral or facial edema), and bronchial spasm.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects have included vasculitis.

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, erythema multiforme, urticaria, and rash.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects have included diarrhea.

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects have included thrombocytopenia, purpura, regional lymphadenopathy, and leukocytosis.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included arthralgia and/or arthritis (usually transient and rarely chronic), polyneuritis, myalgia, paresthesia, and rarely chronic arthritis; these symptoms may also occur with natural rubella.

Nervous system

Significant central nervous system reactions such as encephalitis and encephalopathy have been very rarely temporally associated with measles vaccine (occurring within 30 days after vaccination); however, causality has not been determined in any case. A certain number of encephalitis cases unrelated to vaccines is expected to occur in a large childhood population; however, there is the possibility that some of these cases may have been caused by measles vaccine. The risk of measles vaccine-associated serious neurological disorders is much smaller than the risk for encephalitis and encephalopathy due to natural measles.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) has been very rarely reported in children after measles vaccination. Some of these cases may have been due to unrecognized measles during the first year of life or possibly due to the measles vaccination. The results of a retrospective case-controlled study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that measles vaccine has had the overall effect of protecting against SSPE by preventing measles with its greater risk of SSPE.

Nervous system side effects have included measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE), encephalopathy, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), febrile convulsions, afebrile convulsions or seizures, ataxia, and ocular palsies.

Ocular

Ocular side effects have included retinitis, optic neuritis, papillitis, retrobulbar neuritis, and conjunctivitis.

Other

Otic side effects have included nerve deafness and otitis media.

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included pneumonitis, cough, and rhinitis.

Other

A postmarketing surveillance study of measles/mumps/rubella vaccine in Finland during 1982 to 1993 with 1.5 million pediatric and adult vaccinees reported no deaths or permanent sequelae.

Other side effects have included panniculitis, atypical measles, fever, syncope, headache, dizziness, malaise, and irritability. Fatalities have been reported with the polyvalent measles/mumps/rubella vaccine; however, causality has not been determined.

Health care providers should report any allergic or unusual adverse reactions to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) at 1-800-822-7967 (USA) and the manufacturer.

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