I recently read an article written by the David J. Sencer, the director of the Center for Disease Ccontrol in 1976. I found it interesting what with all of the recent publicity about the H1N1 vaccine. I have written a brief summary and added some links to the original article and to the CDC’s H1N1 factsheet.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/pdfs/05-1007.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/general_info.htm
In 1976 at Fort Dix Army base more than 200 soldiers became infected with a swine flu strain (H1N1) similar to the virus that caused the 1918 outbreak in which an estimated 50 million people died worldwide. It was decided that mass quantities of the vaccine would be needed to vaccinate the entire population to prevent a pandemic like that of 1918. The director of the CDC recommended that the federal government contract private pharmaceutical companies to produce the vaccine. A nationwide immunization program was launched by the federal government at a cost of $137million. Before any vaccine was released however, the vaccine manufacturers required that the federal government underwrite them against claims of adverse reactions prior to any vaccine delivery. The federal government agreed and the vaccinations began.
Soon cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome were identified in patients days or weeks after receiving the vaccination. By December of 1976 more than 40 million people had been vaccinated against H1N1, of which about 500 people developed GBS. According to the NIH Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system by destroying the myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of many peripheral nerves. Sometimes it destroys the axons themselves. It usually occurs a few days or weeks after a viral infection. While there is no known cure for GBS there are treatments that can lessen the severity and speed recovery.
Statistically the number of GBS cases in the vaccinated population was higher than what would be found in the normal population in 1976 (according to the CDC about 1 more case per 100,000 that were vaccinated). As a result federal health officials decided that even the idea that GBS could be linked with the vaccine warranted ending the vaccine program immediately, so that the possibility could be investigated. In the Media the vaccination program was considered a debacle, and the director of the CDC was fired. In addition, the anticipated H1N1 pandemic of 1976 failed to happen.
According to the CDC the link between flu vaccine and GBS has been studied and in most cases no link was found. However in two studies it is suggested that 1 more person out of 1 million people vaccinated with the seasonal flu are likely to develop GBS. (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/factsheet_gbs.htm )
Any thoughts?
More information on Guillain-Barré from the NIH at http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/gbs.htm
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That was a nice piece of history. I'm going to play devils advocate here: If I was talking to God, and she said "Ben, you can either get really sick and annoyed the swine flu, or, you can avoid the swine flu by taking this vaccine that may raise your odds of getting GBS from .00001 to .00002." I think I would go with the vaccine.
ReplyDeleteThe events that played out from the 1976 Swine Flu vaccination program were incredible unfortunate. From the stand point of a public health leader/decision maker, when so many lives are at stake and you are partially accountable for, it is imperative to prevent an influenza pandemic like that of the 1918 outbreak from occurring at all costs. Yes it did cost the government, however had the pandemic hit hard and the decision for mass vaccination were ignored or vaccines weren’t ready it would be the greatest disaster! Equal criticism would have resulted if they spent millions inoculating people for a plague that didn't happen! It is a no-win situation. The fact that at the time the vaccine had not been proven to have a causal relationship to GBS sheds speculation on the accusation the media embellished. I suppose some could think of this as a major medical fiasco in history or the finest hour of American’s public health bureaucracy…
ReplyDeleteGreat post Andrea! I didn't know much about this so I did some research and found.. that I am WAY too addicted to YouTube. =) Here is some CBS 60 minutes footage from 1976 regarding the epidemic and effects of immunization, including an interview with David J. Sencer and other members of the CDC:
ReplyDeleteSwine Flu Vaccine 1976 + Propaganda: Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFcnneAqnTM
This stuff is interesting to learn about. My opinion is that in most circumstances the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the disadvantages (although the harm done in rare instances is tragic).
Amy- Thanks for the video. Very interesting. Ben- Would you go for the vaccine knowing the possible side effects mentioned in the youtube video Amy posted?
ReplyDeletePlease note that I am not anti-vaccination. I just think it is an interesting debate to have.