Pancreatitis cases prompt vaccine review

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MELBOURNE, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A group of doctors in Australia say a review of a cervical cancer vaccine is needed after three treated patients contracted pancreatitis.

Surgery fellow Amitabha Das said he and several colleagues called for a major review of the Gardasil vaccine after three female patients injected with the quadrivalent medication were later diagnosed with pancreatitis, The Melbourne Sun-Herald reported in its Sunday edition.

"We suggest that pancreatitis be considered in cases of abdominal pain following HPV vaccination," the medical officials wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia.

The doctors' concerns have prompted a review by an Australian regulatory body, Therapeutic Goods Administration, to determine if the vaccine does pose a threat.

The Sun-Herald reported Rachel David, spokeswoman for Gardasil manufacturer CSL, has downplayed any possible connection between the vaccine and the women's diagnosis.

"No causative relationship with the vaccine has been established but obviously we do take reports of associations like this very seriously," David told the newspaper.