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Swine flu jab narcolepsy risk
Research has found that a swine flu jab given to children carried an increased risk of developing narcolepsy.
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Govt: Swine flu jab use 'based on available evidence'
The Department of Health said the decision to use a swine flu vaccine that has been found to increase the risk of developing narcolepsy was based on advice from the European Medicines Agency:
Mother threatening to sue after swine flu jab
A mother from Somerset is threatening to sue the government after new figures show a link between the swine flu jab and Narcolepsy.
Caroline Hadfield says her son Josh, 4, developed the condition within three months of the injection. She says he was a perfectly healthy and energetic child before the vaccination but now sleeps for 19 hours a day.
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Swine flu vaccine has not been used for two years
Research, published in the British Medical Journal, has found a link between children who were given the swine flu jab and the sleep disorder narcolepsy.
- Seventy five children aged between four and 18, who were diagnosed with narcolepsy from January 2008 and attended sleep centres across England, were examined
- Researchers found 11 of these received the vaccine before their symptoms began
The use of the vaccine in people under the age of 20 has been restricted across Europe since 2011, following reports of increased cases of the sleep disorder.
Swine flu findings 'consistent' with European studies
Professor Liz Miller, a consultant epidemiologist with the Health Protection Agency, said that findings which have linked the swine flu vaccine to an increased risk of narcolepsy, are consistent with those from European studies.
She added that further studies would be needed to assess the risk of other vaccines used during the swine flu pandemic.
Increased risk of narcolepsy from swine flu jab
Research has found that a swine flu jab given to children carried an increased risk of developing narcolepsy.
Experts said the vaccine Pandemrix increased the child's risk of the disorder, which causes excessive daytime sleepiness.
The research suggests that for every 55,000 doses delivered, around one child developed the condition.
More than 850,000 English children aged six months to 16 years were given the vaccine at the height of the pandemic.