CDC update on possible link between meningitis vaccine and Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Today's issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR -- the widely-read CDC infectious disease publication) includes an update on a series of cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome among college-age students shortly after receiving meningococcal vaccine. Below are excerpts from the CDC summary of the report. The bottom line: It's unclear whether the vaccine is responsible for the GBS cases, further study is needed, and no changes for the time being regarding the recommendation status of the vaccine.

"In October 2005, a possible association between Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and receipt of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4)...was reported. GBS is a serious neurologic disorder involving inflammatory demyelination of the peripheral nerves. At the time of the first report, five confirmed cases of GBS after receipt of MCV4 had been reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). During the 4 months since, three additional confirmed cases of GBS have been reported...

Because available evidence neither proves nor disproves a causal relation between MCV4 and GBS, further monitoring and studies are ongoing within VAERS and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). CDC continues to recommend use of MCV4 for persons for whom vaccination is indicated; the additional reported cases have not resulted in any change to that recommendation."