A circular from the Health Ministry has ordered immediate suspension of importing, distributing and selling of Rotarix. It also ordered the manufacturer to pull the drug from the UAE markets and hospitals "Rotarix vaccine is found to be contaminated with extraneous viral DNA bits from the porcine circovirus 1 (or PVC1),” Dr. Amin Al-Amiri, Health Ministry's CEO for Medical Practice and Licensing said on Wednesday.

"The vaccine which is given to infants to inoculate them against the rotavirus is rarely used and there is no evidence at this time that it poses a safety risk," state news agency WAM quoted Al-Amiri.

The suspension of Rotarix, he added, followed warnings from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommending that pediatricians and health-care practitioners stop using the vaccine until the agency further examines the situation.

The manufacturer earlier notified FDA of the presence of viral genetic material in Rotarix.