Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

[Giuseppe]

Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

[Source: Centre for Health Protection, Hong Kong PRC SAR, View Original Article. Edited.]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 2) received notification from Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) about a 70-year old man presenting with neurological symptoms and history of human swine influenza (HSI) vaccination.

The patient had HSI vaccination on December 28, 2009, about two months before onset of symptoms.

A CHP spokesman said the patient had onset of leg pain and numbness in late February.

He was admitted to QEH on March 18 and was found to have ataxia after admission.

Further investigations are being carried out to ascertain the diagnosis, including that of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) and other neurological conditions.

He is now in stable condition.

He said, "CHP will closely monitor the clinical progress and further laboratory results of the patient."

"Information about the case will be reviewed by the Expert Group in due course for determination of diagnosis and etiology."

Literature review shows that the majority of GBS cases that are temporarily associated with seasonal influenza vaccination occur between the second and the third week, with a median latency of 13 days. According to the World Health Organisation, global experience so far showed that HSI vaccination is not associated with increased incidence of GBS.

In Hong Kong, the number of GBS cases after the HSI vaccination program started is within normal range.

The Expert Group has earlier reviewed GBS cases with HSI vaccination history and concluded that no causal relationship could be established on the basis of the observed GBS incidence. A baseline number of such neurological conditions occur in Hong Kong every year, regardless of vaccination history. Some of the events are expected to occur coincidentally following HSI vaccination.
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[tetano]

Re: Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

65-year-old man reported limb paralysis after vaccination


The patient is a 65 year-old man two months before the onset of symptoms that have been vaccinated by the end of December last year, human swine influenza vaccine. The CHP said the patients were paralyzed on the soles of the feet occurs early, followed by fingers of both hands feel numb, and then went to the Queen Elizabeth hospital, no hospital in stable condition. Admission and other tests to determine whether a patient suffering from Zanzibar's disease or other neurological diseases.

http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/expressnews/20100410/news_20100410_55_659905.htm

[tetano]

Re: Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) received a report from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) about a 65-year old man presenting with limb numbness and history of human swine influenza (HSI) vaccination. The patient had HSI vaccination on December 29, 2009, more than two months before onset of symptoms. A CHP spokesman today (April 10) said the patient had onset of numbness over the soles of both feet in early March, followed by numbness of fingers of both hands.

He sought medical attention at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on March 20 but hospitalisation was not required. He is now in stable condition. Further investigations are being carried out to ascertain the diagnosis, including that of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) and other neurological conditions.

He said, "CHP will closely monitor the clinical progress and further laboratory results of the patient. Information about the case will be reviewed by the Expert Group in due course for determination of diagnosis and etiology.?? Literature review shows that the majority of GBS cases that are temporally associated with seasonal influenza vaccination occur between the second and the third week, with a median latency of 13 days. The latency period of this patient is more than eight weeks, which falls outside the usual latency period for such cases.

According to the World Health Organisation, global experience so far showed that HSI vaccination is not associated with increased incidence of GBS. A baseline number of such neurological conditions occur in Hong Kong every year, regardless of vaccination history. Some of the events are expected to occur coincidentally following HSI vaccination.

Source: HKSAR Government

http://7thspace.com/headlines/341043/chp_investigates_a_patient_with_limb_numbness_and_history_of_human_swine_influenza_vaccination.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%207thspace%20%287thSpace%20Interactive%29

[tetano]

Re: Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

Numbness cases unrelated to swine flu jabs
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The illnesses of three patients who developed limb numbness are unlikely to be related to their human swine flu vaccination, according to an expert group.



The experts today said the clinical picture and laboratory investigations of the 70-year-old man and the 73-year-old woman are compatible with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.



The man is now stable at Queen Elizabeth Hospital while the woman died at Kwong Wah Hospital on April 9.



Regarding the 65-year-old man who developed numb soles and fingers, the group said a nerve conduction test showed demyelinating polyneuropathy, an acquired immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nervous system, but cerebrospinal fluid showed a normal protein level.



Further monitoring of clinical progression is needed to ascertain the probable diagnosis of the patient.


As these patients had the vaccinations about eight to nine weeks before the onset of symptoms, the expert group said their illnesses were unlikely related to the jabs.

http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/100413/html/100413en05011.htm

[Giuseppe]

Re: Hong Kong: CHP investigates a patient with lower limb symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/02/10)

Hong Kong: Expert group views on three cases of neurological symptoms and history of human swine influenza vaccination (4/13/10)

[Source: Hong Kong PRC SAR, View Original Article. Edited.]

The Expert Group on Serious Adverse Events with History of Human Swine Influenza (HSI) Vaccination today (April 13) published a statement regarding three cases of neurological symptoms and history of HSI vaccination reported to the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.

The expert group considers that their illnesses were unlikely to be related to their HSI vaccination.

The first case involved a 70-year-old man presenting with lower limb pain and numbness in late February. He was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on March 18 and was found to have ataxia after admission. He is now in stable condition. The man received an HSI vaccination on December 28, 2009, in a public outpatient clinic, about eight weeks before the onset of symptoms.

In the second case, the patient was a 73-year-old woman who presented with numbness of hands and feet on March 4 and followed by weakness of all four limbs. She was admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital on March 11 and passed away on April 9. She had received an HSI vaccination on December 31, 2009, in a public outpatient clinic, about nine weeks before the onset of symptoms.

The clinical picture and laboratory investigations of the two patients are compatible with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a spokesman for the expert group said.

The third case involved a 65-year-old man who had onset of numbness over the soles of both feet in early March, followed by numbness of fingers of both hands. No hospitalisation was required. He received an HSI vaccination on December 29, 2009, in a public outpatient clinic, about nine weeks before the onset of symptoms. A nerve conduction test showed demyelinating polyneuropathy but cerebrospinal fluid showed a normal protein level. Further monitoring of clinical progression was needed to ascertain the probable diagnosis of this patient, the spokesman said.

"Literature review revealed that the majority of GBS cases that were temporally associated with influenza vaccination occur between the second and the third week.

"On the basis of epidemiological and biological inference, a conservative estimate of the limits of the latencies for GBS is considered to be from five days to six weeks.

"It is more difficult to substantiate a biological association between GBS and an antecedent influenza vaccine administered more than six weeks before onset of symptoms.

"It would be extremely unusual for a large number of GBS cases to cluster at a time point more than six weeks following vaccination," the spokesman said.

In view of the fact that these patients had HSI vaccinations about eight weeks and nine weeks before the onset of symptoms, the expert group was of the view that their illnesses were unlikely to be related to their HSI vaccination.

In Hong Kong, a baseline of about 40-60 GBS cases occur in public hospitals each year. According to the World Health Organisation, there has been no evidence suggesting a causal relationship between GBS and HSI vaccinations. The reported number of GBS cases worldwide has been in line with usual background rates prior to the introduction of such vaccines, the spokesman said.
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