March 13, 2013

expert reaction to Guillain-Barré syndrome and H1N1 vaccine

A meta-analysis of safety data gathered in the US during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccination programme, and published in the Lancet, found the vaccination was associated with a small risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system which can result in paralysis.

Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Nottingham, said:

“This study shows that the mass swine influenza vaccination campaign in the US during 2009 was associated with an increase in the cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. However the increase was tiny and the benefits of vaccination against this potentially deadly virus far outweigh the risks.

“The important thing is to try to understand how this vaccine might cause this debilitating illness so that hopefully in future this very small risk can be removed.”

Prof Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol Medical School, said:

“This paper reconfirms that the benefits of inactivated injected flu vaccine greatly outweigh the risks. It also reminds doctors who recommend immunisation and the public who receives it that they are making risk-benefit judgements when they use vaccines, in just the same way as when they make other everyday decisions, for example to drive a car, play sport or drink alcohol. The value of detailed studies like this is that those decisions become more accurately informed.”

‘Association between Guillain-Barré syndrome and influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent inactivated vaccines in the USA: a meta-analysis’ by Daniel A Salmon et al. published in The Lancet on Wednesday 13^th March.