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The Australian Immunisation Handbook 10th Edition 2013

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Use of live viral or live bacterial vaccines in immunocompromised persons<br />

<strong>The</strong>re is a risk that the administration of live vaccines to immunocompromised<br />

persons may result in adverse events or vaccine-related disease due to<br />

unchecked infection (replication) of the vaccine virus or bacteria. This is<br />

particularly so for measles-, mumps-, rubella-81,82 and VZV-containing<br />

(varicella and zoster) vaccines 83 and for bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG)<br />

vaccine. 49,84 However, the risk of disease varies by vaccine and by individual.<br />

Caution is required for vaccination in the setting of immunocompromise,<br />

and in significantly immunocompromised persons most live vaccines are<br />

contraindicated.<br />

<strong>The</strong> following is a list of current recommendations for use of live vaccines in<br />

immunocompromised persons.<br />

• Tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) is always contraindicated.<br />

• Live vaccines, such as MMR- and VZV-containing (varicella and zoster)<br />

vaccines, should not be given to persons with severe immunocompromise.<br />

Severely immunocompromised persons include those who have active<br />

leukaemia or lymphoma, generalised malignancy, aplastic anaemia,<br />

graft-versus-host disease or congenital immunodeficiency. Others in<br />

this category include persons who have received recent chemotherapy,<br />

persons who have had solid organ or bone marrow transplants (within<br />

2 years of transplantation) or transplant recipients who are still taking<br />

immunosuppressive drugs, or others on highly immunosuppressive therapy,<br />

including high-dose corticosteroids (see above). Dependent on their age,<br />

persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with CD4 + cell<br />

counts of

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