Vaccination induced effluvium

Until quite recently there was no published evidence of vaccinations causing hair loss in humans although localized hair loss from rabies vaccination in dogs has been known about for several years. A recent publication from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA, indicated vaccinations could cause alopecia (Wise 1997). From 60 reports of hair loss the FDA received, 47 were cases involving Hepatitis B vaccination. In 15 of these cases hair loss again recurred when the Hepatitis B vaccine was re-administered (for Hepatitis B vaccination you typically receive three injections over several months to become fully resistant). There was apparently a strong sex bias with 49 of the cases involving hair loss in women. The type of hair loss in all cases was believed to be a form of telogen effluvium, that is diffuse and reversible hair loss. All individuals eventually had hair regrowth. How vaccinations might cause telogen effluvium is not known.

The phenomenon of vaccine induced hair loss is extremely rare considering that up to a billion vaccinations have been conducted in the last few years in the USA alone.

Vaccination induced effluvium references