A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.

how big a prayer circle?

If we avoided every frigging thing that "could" harm us, we'd lock ourselves away in our homes and rasie bean sprouts on the windowsills!

Ya think?

"Once ready, it takes approximately a month for vaccine to both be placed in vials and then for the needed testing to be completed before the vaccine is ready to use."

The agency plans to eventually vaccinate at least 160 million people by December, with pregnant women, healthcare workers, children and young adults at the front of the line.

Common sense will beat this flu, wash your hands each and every time, cover your mouth when you sneeze, cough and/or hack. Wash your fruit and veggies. There's no need to freak out.

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.

GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.

It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:

* More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu.
* 500 cases of GBS were detected.
* The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.
* The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.
* The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.

Facts about swine flu and the current swine flu A (H1N1) oubreak include:

* The last swine flu outbreak occurred in February 1976 in Fort Dix, New Jersey, causing 4 soldiers to get sick and 1 death.
* A swine flu vaccine was given to people from October 1976 to December 1976 in response to the swine flu cases at Fort Dix. A swine flu pandemic never occurred though, and the swine flu vaccine was thought to cause many side effects, including Guillain-Barre syndrome. The vaccination program ended early because those side effects were thought to be worse than the risk of getting swine flu.

Doctors told to watch for Guillain-Barre syndrome during Swine flu vaccination programme
Doctors are being urged to watch for cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare nerve disorder, as the new swine flu vaccine is introduced in October.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Published: 2:38PM BST 16 Aug 2009

Guillain-Barre syndrome which attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis and death is linked to infections like flu but it has also been suggested a previous swine flu vaccine had caused cases of the disease in America in the 1970s.

American officials rushed out a vaccine in 1976 following an outbreak of swine flu in military barracks. Around 40million people received the vaccine but doctors reported an increase Guillain-Barre and 25 people had died before the immunisation programme was stopped.

Maybe the 1917-18 Spanish flu outbreak was a government conspiracy.

In a study that polled 2,255 Hong Kong health workers this year, researchers found even during the height of global swine flu panic in May, less than half were willing to get vaccinated.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong surveyed doctors and nurses in public hospitals this year from January to May, asking them if they would get a pandemic vaccine based either on bird flu or swine flu. About 35 per cent of health workers were willing to get a bird flu vaccine, versus 48 per cent for swine flu.

Most said they would pass on the swine flu shot, which is not yet available, because they were afraid of side effects and doubted how safe and effective it would be.