Flu vaccine use halted after deaths

(ANSA) - Rome, November 27 - Italian authorities on Thursday suspended use of two batches of the FLUAD flu vaccine amid suspicions it may have caused three deaths.
    They also called on anyone who might have unused doses of FLUAD from lots numbered 142701 and 143301 to contact their doctor.
    "Three fatalities took place within 48 hours of the administration of doses from two batches (of FLUAD)," the Italian Pharmaceutical Agency (AIFA) said. Two of the suspicious deaths linked to the vaccine occurred in Sicily, while the other was in the southern Molise region, ANSA sources said. The two batches were produced at a Novartis plant in the Tuscan city of Siena for use by local public health clinics.
    AIFA stressed that the move suspending use of the vaccine is a precaution pending tests of samples from the batches.
    Health authorities in the northwestern Liguria region have suspended flu vaccinations while clinics and pharmacies check their stocks to make sure they don't have any from the suspicious batches.