Swine Flu Vaccine May Have Caused Narcolepsy in European Children

By Sarah Dee
theintelhub.com
January 30, 2013

Stockholm, Sweden is where fourteen-year old Emelie Olsson resides, who up until a few months after having the swine flu vaccination was a healthy, fun-loving girl. She used to play tennis, enjoy doing artwork, playing the piano, and spending time with friends, but all that changed in May of 2010 when she began experiencing symptoms of narcolepsy.

At first she would come home so tired after school she would go straight to bed, but then she began collapsing during school hours and experiencing muscle spasms, hallucinations, and sleeplessness, which are lesser-known symptoms of the disease.

She received the Pandemrix H1N1 swine flu vaccine which was manufactured by the British company GlaxoSmithKline and distributed to thousands of children, young people, and adults in the 2009 swine flu scare. Many had no side-effects, but for Emelie and about 800 other children living across Europe it appears there was a link between the vaccinations and the onset of narcolepsy.

Scientific studies are ongoing that are trying to unravel this mystery. Was the narcolepsy caused by the vaccination or the flu-strain itself? Or did the vaccine or the flu act as a trigger in those child patients that were already pre-disposed to the disease genetically, because of a compromised immune system, or another as yet unknown reason?

A GlaxoSmithKline officer comments on the tragic side-effects in this Reuters’ article:

“The chief medical officer at GSK’s vaccines division, Norman Begg, says his firm views the issue extremely seriously and is “absolutely committed to getting to the bottom of this,” but adds there is not yet enough data or evidence to suggest a causal link.”

Emmanuel Mignot, an narcolepsy expert seems to disagree.

“There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Pandemrix increased the occurrence of narcolepsy onset in children in some countries — and probably in most countries,” says Mignot, a specialist in the sleep disorder at Stanford University in the United States.”

Mignot is doing research into this area for GSK and many other European scientists are researching this area as well. Some scientific studies have already been published that seem to show a link between the Pandemrix vaccine and narcolepsy cases.

“Independent teams of scientists have published peer-reviewed studies from Sweden, Finland and Ireland showing the risk of developing narcolepsy after the 2009-2010 immunization campaign was between seven and 13 times higher for children who had Pandemrix than for their unvaccinated peers.”The article also stated that:

The only reason this particular vaccine was not distributed in the United States is because it contained an adjuvant or booster and U.S. health regulators are wary of these additives. A Swedish health official, Goran Stiernstedt, says looking back on the decision to distribute this vaccine that the risk was not worth the reward.

“”The big question is, Was it worth it? And retrospectively I have to say it was not,” he told Reuters in an interview.”

Narcolepsy has no known cure, though the cause seems to be low levels of the neurotransmitter called hypocretin also known as orexin. Emelie was shown to have extremely low levels of this neurotransmitter. Though she is still afflicted with this disease, she has adjusted to taking doses of medication to regulate her sleep and waking cycles and lives life as best as she can.

“In the beginning I didn’t really want to live anymore, but now I have learned to handle things better,” she said.”

Hopefully the future will bring science the answers it needs to find cures for diseases like narcolepsy and then Emelie and other children like her will get some much-needed relief from this agonizing disease.

Source:

Kelland, K. (2013, January 22). Possible narcolepsy link in swine flu vaccine investigation. Reuters. Retrieved from

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Sarah Dee is a University of Texas graduate and animal lover who enjoys writing, reading, and living in the Lone Star State. She is also a guest co-host on Truth Exposed Radio Show and an investigative journalist for theintelhub.com, a popular alternative news website.

Follow Sarah Dee on Twitter @Sarah_Bee86

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