A batch of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil was recently voluntarily recalled because some of the vials may have contained glass shards.
On Dec. 16 the Merck company informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it would voluntarily one lot of Gardasil would be voluntarily recalled due to possible glass contamination from a breakage during the manufacturing process.
"During the past several months, we at CDC have been working hard to take steps to increase HPV vaccination coverage among [11 and 12] year olds, including actively communicating with clinicians and parents about the benefits and safety of this cancer-preventing vaccine. We want to also be open and timely in sharing any problems or concerns related to HPV vaccines as they arise," the CDC said in a statement.
The company said there were 743,360 vials in the affected lot but only about 10 of those doses were believed to have been contaminated with glass particles.
The affected lot was distributed between August 20, 2013, and October 9, 2013.
The CDC said it is not necessary for patients who have recently received an HPV vaccine to take action. If the shards of glass were small enough to fit through the needle they would most likely only cause redness and swelling around the injection site.
The CDC stated the contaminated vaccines were no less effective than others, and re-vaccination was unnecessary.
The Merck company asked that any remaining vials from lot J007354 be sent back to the manufacturer.
HPV is "the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI)," the CDC reported. The STI can lead to serious health complications such as "genital warts and certain cancers." Almost all sexually active men and women will contract the infection at least once over the course of their lives.
Most people who contract HPV are asymptomatic and may not even realize they have been infected.
