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Members of the Expert Group on Serious Adverse Events following Human Swine Influenza (HSI) Vaccination met today (January 7) to discuss the case of a 58-year-old man admitted to Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) who complained about lower limb weakness after HSI vaccination.
The Expert Group concluded that the clinical features of the patient were compatible with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Further tests were being conducted to ascertain the final diagnosis.
"The group considered that it was not possible to differentiate with reasonable certainty whether the relationship between HSI vaccination and the patient's symptoms was causal or coincidental, i.e, by chance," a spokesman for the Expert Group said.
The spokesman also noted that to date, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had found no evidence suggesting a causal relationship between GBS and HSI vaccination, and the number of GBS worldwide was in line with normal background rates of this illness.
The group recommended that the Department of Health's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) should closely monitor the local and global situation.
The spokesman added that over 80 million doses of HSI vaccines had been administered worldwide. To date, overseas reports on adverse events following HSI vaccination do not suggest human swine influenza vaccine is associated with an increased risk of GBS.
The WHO asserts that the number of GBS worldwide is in line with normal background rates of this illness.
Locally, between 42 and 65 cases of GBS are recorded each year based on Hospital Authority data from 2000 to 2009, irrespective of vaccination history, with more cases occurring during the winter period.
The spokesman said that from a population perspective, no association between HSI vaccination and GBS could be established at this point, but rare idiosyncratic response of an individual to any vaccines or drugs could not be excluded.
The Government's HSI vaccination programme will continue.
The CHP received report about the case on January 6, 2010.
The patient received HSI vaccination on December 24, 2009. He developed bilateral calf pain and increasing lower limb weakness since December 28, 2009 and was admitted to QMH on January 2, 2010.
His condition is currently listed as serious but his vital signs are stable.
Ends/Thursday, January 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 20:19
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