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Campylobacter, GBS and Swine Flu Vaccine
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Campylobacter facts
 Centers for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year 2.4 million people in the country, about 1 percent of the population, are affected by a campylobacter infection, or campylobacteriosis. Many infections go undiagnosed. The most frequent species that leads to human illness is called Campylobacter jejuni. While the campylobacter bacteria can live inside a person without causing any sort of illness, typical symptoms from an infection can include several days of fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Campylobacter is a common type of bacteria found in domesticated animals, such as cats, dogs, chickens and cattle. It tends to spread by drinking unpasteurized milk or contaminated water, or by eating raw or undercooked meat or poultry, but it can also be passed through contact with the feces of an infected animal. It doesn’t take many campylobacter cells to get a person sick. According to the CDC, “even one drop of juice from raw chicken can infect a person.”
GBS and the Swine Flu vaccine
 Swine flu vaccine in the county Health Department refrigerator. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the autoimmune disorder as a possible side-effect of getting the vaccination, causing some to question whether it’s worth the risk. But public health officials say there’s a greater chance of dying after being hospitalized with swine flu than there is of developing GBS as a result of a vaccination. “It’s a no-brainer,” California Department of Public Health spokesperson Mike Sicilia said. “There’s a risk with everything. But you’re taking a bigger risk with not getting vaccinated than worrying about a rare disease occurring.” Each year the CDC reports 3,000 to 6,000 people in the U.S. contract GBS, regardless of if they’ve been inoculated. That means there’s a rate of about one to two people out of 100,000 each year who actually get the disorder. In 1976, however, there was an increase in this rate during a national vaccination campaign that was started in response to concerns of a potential widespread outbreak of a different swine flu virus. An investigation found that people who were vaccinated had a greater risk for GBS than those who were not. This resulted in about one additional case of GBS per 100,000 people who were vaccinated. Based on the increased risk linked to the vaccination, and the fact that the swine flu threat was rather limited in scope, the U.S. stopped its inoculation program after only 10 weeks. Scientists still don’t know why there was an association between GBS and the the vaccine in 1976. And while subsequent studies to evaluate other flu vaccines have not found a connection to the disorder, a couple suggest that approximately one additional person out of 1 million who are vaccinated for the seasonal flu might be at risk. “There’s no reason to worry about getting Guillain-Barré syndrome,” CDC spokesman Christopher Cox said, citing the studies that have been performed over the years. “The risk is greater if you’re not going to get vaccinated.” |
