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Article: Women with smallpox vaccine exposure during pregnancy reported to the National Smallpox Vaccine in Pregnancy Registry--United States, 2003.
- Article from:
- MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Article date:
- May 2, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the absence of circulating smallpox, pregnant women should not be exposed to live vaccinia virus contained in the smallpox vaccine. The smallpox vaccine should not be administered to women who are pregnant or might become pregnant within 4 weeks after vaccination because of the risk for fetal vaccinia, a rare but serious infection of the fetus. In addition, persons who have close contact (e.g., household contact or sexual contact) with pregnant women are advised to forego vaccination (1,2). To prevent inadvertent exposure of pregnant women to vaccinia virus, screening for pregnancy is a component of pre-event smallpox vaccination programs. To monitor outcomes of ...