The Irish Medicines Board has estimated that 500 people received rabies vaccine from two batches of the product which have been recalled as a precautionary measure from the Irish market.
Dr Joan Gilvarry, director of Human Medicine at the Irish Medicines Board, said there has been a worldwide recall of the rabies vaccine manufactured by Aventis Pasteur MSD Limited in France at a time when a low level contamination was found in a single batch during company tests.
This batch was rejected and never released to the market, but the company was carrying out a recall of all batches of rabies vaccine manufactured at that facility at that time as a precautionary measure.
"The risk of potential harm ranges somewhere between nil to negligible," said Dr Gilvarry. She said this rabies vaccine has been licensed for use in Ireland since 1994 and that only two specific batches had been recalled from the Irish market.
These two batches were numbered X0712-1 and X0071-6 and were marketed in Ireland between October 24th, 2003 and April 2nd, 2004.
"We recovered 3,900 doses and there were 1,300 already used up. These were most likely given to people as a precautionary measure travelling to Africa, Latin America or other countries where there was a possibility of risk from rabies," she said.
"As three doses are normally given in such circumstances, we think that it is possible 500 people may have been treated from the batches involved."