Clinical Communications Ovalbumin content in the yellow fever vaccine Derek Smith, MD, Priscilla Wong, MD, Robert Gomez, BS, and Kevin White, MD Clinical Implications

 The yellow fever vaccine contains higher amounts of ovalbumin than does the influenza vaccine. Therefore, patients with an egg allergy should continue to be skin tested to this vaccine before its administration.

TO THE EDITOR: Recent attention has focused on the safety of administering the influenza vaccine to patients with a history of severe egg allergy. Most influenza vaccines are manufactured by inoculating embryonated chicken eggs with live virus; therefore, the vaccine contains a residual amount of ovalbumin, raising theoretical safety concerns in egg-allergic patients. The US Food and Drug Administration does not currently mandate the publication of the ovalbumin content in the vaccines, but most manufacturers now indicate the amount of ovalbumin in the package inserts (all