POST 01091E : VACCINE FREEZING : LITTERATURE REVIEW

POST 01091E : VACCINE FREEZING : LITTERATURE REVIEW 11 May 2007 ____________________________________ NOTE : Until now, posting were sent only in plain text format to avoid reported decoding problems. I hope that members are now technologically up-to-date as from today, postings will be sent in enriched text (HTML). This is to permit insertion of images in the body of the message, and a different presentation of links. If you do not receive a posting properly, please contact the [log in to unmask]">moderator __________________________ An article just published in Vaccine reviews literature on vaccine freezing. Thanks Carib [log in to unmask]">Carib Nelson[log in to unmask]"> Team Leader, Technology Solutions PATH ----------------- "Freezing temperatures in the vaccine cold chain: A systematic litterature review" by Dipika M. Matthias, Joanie Robertson, Michelle M. Garrison, Sophie Newland and Carib Nelson ; Vaccine, Volume 25, Issue 20, 16 May 2007, Pages 3980-3986 The abstract is below. Click here for the full text. ----------------- The dangers of accidental freezing of vaccines in the cold chain have prompted studies throughout the globe to better characterize the risk. To date, there has been no systematic review of these studies. This analysis highlights that accidental freezing is pervasive and occurs across all segments of the cold chain. Between 14% and 35% of refrigerators or transport shipments were found to have exposed vaccine to freezing temperatures, while in studies that examined all segments of distribution, between 75% and 100% of the vaccine shipments were exposed. More rigorous study designs were associated with higher levels of freeze exposure. As more expensive, freeze-sensitive vaccines are introduced into immunization schedules, freeze prevention will become increasingly critical for ensuring that the world's children are receiving fully potent vaccine. ______________________________________________________________________________ All members of the TechNet21 e-Forum are invited to send comments on any posting or to use the forum to raise a new discussion or request technical information in relation to immunization services. The comments made in this forum are the sole responsibility of the writers and do not in any way mean that they are endorsed by any of the organizations and agencies to which the authors may belong. ______________________________________________________________________________ Visit the TECHNET21 Website at http://www.technet21.org You will find instructions to subscribe, a direct access to archives, links to reference documents and other features. ______________________________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to : mailto:[log in to unmask] Leave the subject area BLANK In the message body, write unsubscribe TECHNET21E ______________________________________________________________________________ The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services. It is moderated by Claude Letarte and is hosted in cooperation with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement, Québec, Canada (http://www.ccisd.org) ______________________________________________________________________________