Local adverse reactions to adsorbed DPT vaccine--Surrey, British Columbia.

Two recent reports(l,2) suggest that Canadian children receiving preschool (fifth) dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine may be experiencing severe local adverse reactions at a higher rate than previously. In Alberta<>, reports of severe local reactions after the fourth or fifth dose of DPT increased from 25 in 1984 to 484 in 1986. A survey completed in Alberta in 1987(l) of over 600 children receiving dose 4 or 5 indicated that more than one child in 10 suffered local redness or swelling~ cm in diameter. In British Columbia<2>, administration of DPT vaccine to 202 kindergarten students in Cranbrook was followed by severe local reactions in 23%, with nearly half these children having redness or swelling of the whole upper arm.