1976 swine flu outbreak
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The 1976 swine flu outbreak, also known as the swine flu fiasco, or the swine flu debacle, was a strain of H1N1 influenza virus that appeared in 1976. Infections were only detected from January 19 to February 9, and were not found outside Fort Dix.[1] The outbreak is most remembered for the mass immunization that it prompted in the United States. The strain itself killed one person and hospitalized 13[citation needed]. However, side-effects from the vaccine caused five hundred cases of Guillain–Barré syndrome and 25 deaths.[2][3]
On February 5, 1976, an army recruit at Fort Dix said he felt tired and weak. He died the next day and four of his fellow soldiers were later hospitalized. Two weeks after his death, health officials announced that swine flu was the cause of death and that this strain of flu appeared to be closely related to the strain involved in the 1918 flu pandemic. Alarmed public-health officials decided that action must be taken to head off another major pandemic, and they urged President Gerald Ford that every person in the U.S. be vaccinated for the disease. The vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, but about 24% of the population had been vaccinated by the time the program was canceled. Only one person, the Fort Dix army recruit, died from the flu.[4]
There were reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralyzing neuromuscular disorder, affecting some people who had received swine flu immunizations. One of the causes of this syndrome could be a rare side-effect of modern influenza vaccines, with an incidence of about one case per million vaccinations.[5] As a result, Di Justo writes that "the public refused to trust a government-operated health program that killed old people and crippled young people." In total, less than 33 percent of the population had been immunized by the end of 1976. The National Influenza Immunization Program was effectively halted on December 16.
Overall, about 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), resulting in death from severe pulmonary complications for 25 people, were probably caused by an immunopathological reaction to the 1976 vaccine[citation needed]. Other influenza vaccines have not been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, though caution is advised for certain individuals, particularly those with a history of GBS.[6][7]
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Gaydos JC, Top FH, Hodder RA, Russell PK (January 2006). "Swine influenza a outbreak, Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1976". Emerging Infectious Diseases 12 (1): 23–8. PMID 16494712. Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. http://www.webcitation.org/5iRlKb0XD. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
- ^ "Swine flu debacle of 1976 is recalled". Los Angelest Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/27/science/sci-swine-history27?pg=1. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "1976:Fear of great plague". The capital century.
- ^ "What Can We Learn From the 1976 Flu Debacle?". Glenn Beck Fox News. April 27, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/5gYGl2yLF. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Vellozzi C, Burwen DR, Dobardzic A, Ball R, Walton K, Haber P (March 2009). "Safety of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines in adults: Background for pandemic influenza vaccine safety monitoring". Vaccine 27 (15): 2114–2120. doi:. PMID 19356614.
- ^ Haber P, Sejvar J, Mikaeloff Y, Destefano F (2009). "Vaccines and guillain-barré syndrome". Drug Saf 32 (4): 309–23.. doi:10.2165/00002018-200932040-00005 (inactive 2009-04-26). PMID 19388722.
- ^ "Influenza / Flu Vaccine". University of Illinois at Springfield. http://www.uis.edu/healthservices/immunizations/influenzavaccine.html. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
[edit] References
- Sencer DJ, Millar JD (2006-01). "Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program". Emerging Infectious Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol12no01/05-1007.htm.
[edit] Further reading
- Pandemic Influenza: A Guide to Recent Institute of Medicine Studies and Workshops A collection of research papers and summaries of workshops by the Institute of Medicine on major policy issues related to pandemic influenza and other infectious disease threats.
- The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease Report commissioned by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, written by Richard Neustadt and Harvey V. Fineberg. An examination of what happened during and after the 1976 swine flu outbreak and lessons to help cope with similar situations in the future.
- The coming plague, Laurie Garrett, chapter 6 The American Bicentennial (swine flu and legionnaires disease) Page 153-192. ISBN 1-85381-764-3
