The word on the internet is that a confidential letter was sent by the British Government to senior neurologists at the Health Protection Agency, warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease. (Or was the letter sent by the Health Protection Agency to the British Government? It’s unclear as by the way it was written as who sent the letter to who. But I guess it leaked somehow and it ended up being sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29.)
It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.
The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.
It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:
* More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
* 500 cases of GBS were detected.
* The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
* The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
* The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.
It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunization, expected to start in October.
Within days, symptoms of GBS were reported among those who had been immunized and 25 people died from respiratory failure after severe paralysis. One in 80,000 people came down with the condition. In contrast, just one person died of swine flu.
More than 40million Americans had received the vaccine by the time the program was stopped after ten weeks. The US Government paid out millions of dollars in compensation to those affected.
The swine flu virus in the new vaccine is a slightly different strain from the 1976 virus, but the possibility of an increased incidence of GBS remains a concern. Many think the new vaccine not being sufficiently tested and the effects on the public, especially on children, are unknown.
For more information about this bit can be found at Dailymail.co.uk
