Britain withdraws polio vaccine over "mad cow" fears

Britain withdraws polio vaccine over "mad cow" fears
Agence France Presse

LONDON, OCT 20: Britain's health ministry announced Friday it was recalling a polio vaccine now in use over fears that it could transmit the human variant of mad cow disease. But health chiefs asserted the risk of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through the Medeva vaccine given to British children and travellers was "incalculably small." Britain's Department of Health said the recall affected only one particular brand of polio vaccine, which was due to be replaced, but did not specify the quantity of vaccine which is being recalled. "As the national supply of polio vaccine has already switched to a different manufacturer, the impact of the recall on the polio vaccination programme is likely to be minimal," a spokesman said. Britain's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, wrote to all family doctors Friday to tell them of the move. He said the risks to humans of catching CJD - the human form of BSE which appeared in Britain in 1986 - was "incalculably small". Smith KlineBeecham shares fell 2.7% to 873 pence after the news. The BBC reported that the recall is linked to the presence of calf foetuses in the vaccine, manufactured by British pharmaceutical group Smith Kline Beecham. European rules say oral medicines should not use bovine materials from countries in which there are known cases of BSE.