Rabies vaccine for humans missing from some packages

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Aventis Pasteur, manufacturer of IMOVAX rabies vaccine for use in humans, notified the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 27 that some packages are reportedly missing the vial of freeze-dried vaccine.

The CDC announced the notification in its Sept. 5 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The MMWR notes that each package should contain one diluent syringe and one vaccine vial containing freeze-dried vaccine.

An investigation is under way, and the company will notify its customers when it has additional information. Len Lavenda, a spokesman from Aventis Pasteur, said the vaccine was omitted from only a small percentage of packages, and health care personnel who read the enclosed instructions should have noticed if the vaccine were missing.

Health care providers or pharmacists who encounter any IMOVAX dose packaged with a diluent syringe and no vaccine vial should contact Aventis Pasteur at (800) VACCINE and the Food and Drug Administration at (301) 443-1240.