Beef Serum In RotaTeq

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RotaTeq is a relatively new vaccine administered to infants in order to prevent rotavirus infections.  In general, I am strong proponent of vaccinations for children, but this one made me pause, for an MSPI specific reason.  That’s because one of the ingredients in the vaccine is fetal bovine serum (see the product monograph, p. 7).  Fetal bovine serum is frequently used in cell cultures, and since Rotateq is a live vaccine, trace amounts remain.

When it came time to vaccinate our older daughter. we chose to hold off on RotaTeq  for an extra month, since she was having reactions to so many foods in her monther’s diet.  We didn’t see any blood in her stool following any of the doses.  Our third child had menegitis at 5 day old and we were terrified of ending up back at the hospital so we decided to give it to her on schedule (at 2 months old).  Six days later we saw a single speck of blood in her diaper, and then nothing after.

I’m curious to know if anyone has seen any adverse reactions to RotaTeq.  Rotavirus is a very serious gastro-intestinal infection and can seriously harm infants and young children.  Rotavirus is an extremely common virus, with 95% of children being infected by the time they are five.  Any parent who has lived through an infant or toddler with a gastro-intestinal infections knows how awful this can be.  When our daughter was hospitalized, the newborn girl in the bed next to had contracted rotavirus, which led to severe weight loss, prolonged hospitalization and eventually a naso-gastric feeding tube.

Have you given your MSPI child RotaTeq?  Did you even know that your child had MSPI when you gave it, or that it had fetal bovine serum?  Let us know.

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  • Shannon

    My son was given the rotavirus vacination at two months of age. He suffered from a serious reaction . . .including a fever reaching 103 and moderate amounts of blood in his stool during a 6 – 12 hour time interval after the injection. Yes, we knew he was MSPI at the time. I was not prepared with information about this vaccine when I went to his 2 month appointment, as it was not offered/part of the vacine schedule with my older daughter. I should have declined until I personally completed some research. . . but followed the pediatrician’s recommendations. Due to his reaction, a report was drafted to the CDC and he did not receive the second dose. I feel, as many parents feel, you must be diligent and question everything-and everyone-to ensure the safety of your child.