To date, 12 countries around the world have reported cases of narcolepsy in children to the World Health Organization (WHO) after seasonal influenza vaccination. Narcolepsy is a rare sleep disorder that results in bouts of falling asleep and sudden daytime sleepiness
Children and adolescents between the ages of 4 and 19 began to experience this disorder after being vaccinated with Pandemrix, the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.
Side effects from this vaccine have been reported by 12 countries. Most of these cases were registered in three European countries - Finland, Sweden and Iceland. At the same time, narcolepsy does not manifest itself in children under the age of four or people over the age of 19.
The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety continues to investigate all of these cases, but at this stage it has been decided not to withdraw the vaccine from the market.
The European Medicines Agency, which is responsible for the licensing of the vaccine, is advised to take into account all available data and to weigh the risk of side effects against the benefits of vaccination. WHO notes that the Pandemrix vaccine has been successfully used in 47 countries around the world.
Experts point out that narcolepsy is closely related to genetic predisposition. Diagnosis in Finland showed that all patients with narcolepsy in Finland have a specific genotype - (HLA) DQB1 0602). Experts do not exclude that some environmental factors may also be related to such manifestations.
Experts continue to study all the factors that may link narcolepsy to pandemic vaccines. A final report on this issue will be submitted no later than 31 August 2011.