Teen Suffers from Guillain-Barre Syndrome after H1N1 Swine Flu Shot

Jordan McFarland, a high school athlete from Alexandria, Virginia is one of the first people in the nation to report developing the potentially life-threatening muscle disorder after receiving the H1N1 vaccine this fall.

Jordan spent 5 days in Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children after suffering an almost immediate reaction to the H1N1 flu vaccine. He became weak and struggled to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.

Guillain–Barré syndrome is an autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system, usually triggered by an acute infectious process. GBS is rare and has an incidence of 1 or 2 people per 100,000.

It is frequently severe and usually exhibits as an ascending paralysis noted by weakness in the legs that spreads to the upper limbs and the face along with complete loss of deep tendon reflexes.

With prompt treatment, the majority of patients will regain full functional capacity. However, death may occur if severe pulmonary complications and autonomic nervous system problems are present.

Jordan McFarland left the hospital Tuesday night in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following an H1N1 swine flu shot.

GBS may be a rare side-effect of influenza vaccines, with an incidence of about one case per million vaccinations. There were reports of GBS affecting about 500 people who had received swine flu immunizations in the 1976 U.S. outbreak of swine flu.

Twenty-five of these people died from severe pulmonary complications, leading the government to end that immunization campaign. There is some speculation that GBS may not have been directly due to the vaccine but to a bacterial contamination of the vaccine.

NFL Cheerleader Suffers Dystonia after Flu Shot

Woman has Neurological Damage after Flu Shot

To date, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received five reports of GBS in people who received the H1N1 vaccine since October 6, 2009. This does not include Jordan’s case, according to Dr. Claudia J. Vellozzi, deputy director for immunization safety.

Connin and Jordan’s father, Calvin McFarland, both 38, believe the shot caused the illness that came on 18 hours after the boy’s vaccination. His doctors have confirmed that Jordan has GBS, but do not want to talk about the case as it may create panic among people who have still not received their H1N1 Swine flu shot.

So far, CDC officials have received about 1,700 reports of adverse events linked to the new shot. Of those, only about 4 percent, or 68, were coded as serious.

While any harmful side effect can be devastating for an individual, when it comes to larger public health issues, the CDC stresses that the H1N1 virus is considerably riskier than the vaccine.

People like Jordan McFarland, who was diagnosed with GBS after an H1N1 vaccine, can typically expect recovery to start after the fourth week from the onset of the disorder. Approximately 80% of patients have a complete recovery within a few months to a year, although minor findings may persist, such as the absence of neurologic reflexes.

If you or your child have ad adverse reaction to an H1N1 swine flu vaccine, report the incident here on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System: http://vaers.hhs.gov/index

Cheryl Phillips
HULIQ.com

sources: MSNBC, CDC, Mayoclinic.com