US health agencies "have not detected new safety concerns or unusual reporting patterns" in children given Pfizer or Sanofi Aventis vaccines to prevent meningitis and pneumonia, a Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said.

The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are aware of the death of four children in Japan that prompted authorities there to halt use of Pfizer's Prevenar and Sanofi's ActHIB, FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said in an emailed statement. The US agencies will continue to monitor the vaccines for safety in the US, she added. – Reuters