Vaccines for preventing anthrax.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Anthrax is an acute bacterial skin disease which may be fatal. Three anthrax vaccines are commercially available but their comparative effectiveness and safety is not clear.

OBJECTIVES:

The objective of this review was to assess the effects of human anthrax vaccines in healthy adults and children.

SEARCH STRATEGY:

We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Medline, Embase and the reference lists of articles. We handsearched the journal Vaccine and contacted researchers in the field.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Randomised and quasi-randomised trials comparing anthrax vaccines with placebo, vaccines for other diseases or no intervention.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS:

Trial quality assessment and data extraction was conducted independently by the six authors.

MAIN RESULTS:

Two trials involving 16,052 people were included. Both trials had methodological limitations. Compared to placebo, vaccination was associated with a reduced risk of contracting anthrax (relative risk 0.16, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.35). Compared to placebo, the killed vaccine was associated with a higher incidence and severity of adverse effects (odds ratio 5.15, 95% confidence interval 2.28 to 11.61). Just over 5% of participants in the vaccine group reported adverse effects. The effectiveness of the vaccine does not appear to be influenced by the route of inoculation.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS:

Killed anthrax vaccines appear to be effective in reducing the risk of contracting anthrax with a relatively low rate of adverse effects. Further research should be restricted to testing new vaccines only.

• Authors: T Jefferson, V Demicheli, J Deeks, P Graves, M Pratt, D Rivetti
• Journal: The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Cochrane Database Syst Rev) Issue 2 Pg. CD000975 ( 2000) ISSN: 1469-493X [Electronic] England
• PMID: 10796564 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review, Systematic Review)

Chemical References

• Vaccines

Topics

• Adult
• Anthrax (immunology, prevention & control)
• Humans
• Vaccines (therapeutic use)