JAMA — GBS Following Influenza Vaccination

    • GH
      April 6, 2012 at 4:27 am

      Here’s a report of a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association which suggests a possible explanation for the anomalous link between the 1976 Swine Flu vaccine and the incidence of GBS:

      “Guillain-Barré Syndrome Following Influenza Vaccination”

      http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/292/20/2478.full

      Excerpt from document linked above:

      “Influenza vaccines have traditionally been made in chicken eggs, and Campylobacter is an endemic infection among chickens and a known cause of GBS. The Food-borne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) has found that from 1996 to 2003, laboratory-confirmed Campylobacter infections in humans decreased 28% in the United States due to enhanced food safety interventions. Interestingly, 1996-1997 is also when both the decline in GBS reports to VAERS and GBS hospitalizations in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample began. These data raise intriguing questions about whether GBS among influenza vaccinees may be related to Campylobacter infection. Additional research to unravel this possibility may lead to a fuller understanding of the causes of GBS and its possible relationship with influenza vaccine.”