Flu vaccine can up risk of syndrome
From Times Wire Reports
The flu vaccine can slightly raise the already small risk of a potentially disabling neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome by about 45%, researchers have found, but they stressed the vaccine’s benefits far outweigh its risks.
Canadian researchers, writing in the Nov. 13 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, estimated that one to two people per million who get the flu vaccine will develop Guillain-Barre syndrome as a result. The ailment usually affects about one of every 100,000 people per year.
Guillain-Barre (pronounced ghee-yan bah-RAY) syndrome is an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves, characterized by rapid onset of weakness and often paralysis of the legs, arms, breathing muscles and face.
