Teen Has Deadly Muscle Disorder After Getting H1N1 Vaccination

A Virginia teen has been diagnosed with a paralyzing and potentially life-threatening muscle disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) just hours after he received the H1N1 swine flu vaccination.

Jordan McFarland, 14, was hospitalized one week for treatment of muscle spasms, weakness in his legs, and severe headaches after receiving the H1N1 vaccination, according to an MSNBC.com report. He remains confined to a wheelchair and must undergo extensive physical therapy in order to fully recover, doctors say.

McFarland’s case is one of the first of its kind in the United States which may provide a link between the swine flu vaccine and GBS, health officials say. During the 1976 swine flu outbreak, officials also noted an increase in the rate of the syndrome in people receiving the shots, but they say it’s still too early to know if the current vaccinations will cause a similar spike in the disease.

Reports of Adverse Events Piling Up

There have been six reports of GBS in patients who got the H1N1 vaccine since October 6, officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been about 1,700 reports of adverse events associated with the vaccinations, but only four percent of those reports were “serious.”

GBS is caused when a patient’s immune system attacks the nerves, which results in muscle weakness and can lead to complete paralysis and even death. It also has been seen in higher-than-normal rates in girls after taking the vaccine Gardasil to prevent common causes of cervical cancer.

McFarland’s GBS symptoms appeared just 18 hours after he got the swine flu shot, his family said.

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