No Evidence of Elevated Risk for Febrile Seizures in Children Ages 4 to 6 After Measles-Containing Vaccines

Previous studies suggest that the risk for fever and febrile seizures is elevated in children aged 1 to 2 years after immunization with measles-containing vaccines and that the risk is even greater (twofold) after combination measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine than after separately administered MMR and varicella vaccines. Now, researchers have examined these risks in 4- to 6-year-olds using the national vaccine safety data from 2006 through 2008 for 86,750 children vaccinated with MMRV, 67,438 children vaccinated with MMR and varicella separately on the same day, 479,311 children who received MMR alone, and 80,985 children who received varicella alone. A postvaccination seizure event was defined as a seizure occurring during the…