Adverse Events Following Administration of DTwP Containing Vaccines in Albanian Children from 2003 to 2015

Abstract

The Albanian vaccination program started in 1960. DTwP vaccine was introduced to the immunization schedule since the beginning and was produced in the country until the establishment of EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization – EPI) in 1993, at the Department of Epidemiology of the Institute of Public Health (IPH). From that time the vaccines were procured by UNICEF. Until 2003, the reporting of adverse events after vaccination was not made through a standard reporting form. The adverse events reporting system was implemented in 2003 through the introduction of individual reporting forms to the primary health care centers. Although the surveillance system was a passive one, the collection of data by IPH was made on monthly base and when a signal was detected further investigations were undertaken. The pertussis component of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTwP) vaccine is the whole inactivated cell of Bordetella Pertussis. The aim of this study is to analyze the rate of adverse events following DTwP administration in Albanian children from 2003 to 2015.