Smallpox vaccine linked to new problems

ATLANTA - More than 50 people have had heart inflammation after getting the smallpox vaccine, and a recipient has suffered a brain illness, health officials said Thursday.

The possible side effects are in addition to three heart attack deaths reported in March.

Twenty-four civilians have had inflammation of the heart or surrounding membranes, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Another 27 members of the military have had the conditions, according to the Defense Department.

More than 36,000 civilians and 430,000 military personnel have been vaccinated since the program started in January in anticipation of a potential bioterrorism attack.

Some side effects were expected, but the heart problems have taken some doctors by surprise. Few cardiac events were recorded when the vaccinations were routine in the 1950s and '60s.

Most of those vaccinated decades ago were children, and the two main tests for detecting heart disease today hadn't been developed. People getting inoculated now are adults, many of whom have heart problems or are at risk for cardiac disease.

The federal campaign to vaccinate a half-million health-care workers against smallpox has fallen far short, with 36,600 workers covered as of mid-May.

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