Do you expect an increased rate of Guillain Barre cases with the 2009 H1N1 vaccine?
No. In 1976, a different type of H1N1 flu vaccine was felt to be associated with an increased number of cases of a severe paralytic illness called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Some studies done since 1976 have shown a small risk of GBS, no more than 1 case per 1 million persons vaccinated. Since then, flu vaccines have not been clearly linked to GBS. GBS has a number of different causes, and GBS usually occurs in people who have never received an influenza vaccine. The potential benefits of influenza vaccination in preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death substantially outweigh the potential risk for vaccine-associated GBS.
