Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue, because although the condition is rare, it is highly traumatic and upsetting for those who acquire it. Guillain-Barré syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. It usually occurs a few days or weeks after a person has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. The syndrome is slightly more common in men than women and can affect people of any age, including children. The syndrome is rare, afflicting only approximately one person in 100,000. It is estimated that 50 to 100 people are affected in Ireland annually. However, as Guillain-Barré syndrome is not a notifiable disease, there is no requirement for doctors to report cases. Guillain-Barré is called a syndrome rather than a disease because, as the Senator pointed out, there could be a lot of reasons and it is not clear that a specific disease-causing agent is involved. A syndrome is a medical condition characterised by a collection of symptoms, that is, what the patient feels, as well as signs, that is, what a doctor can observe or measure. As the signs and symptoms of the syndrome can be quite varied, doctors may, on rare occasions, find it difficult to diagnose it. Two thirds of people with Guillain-Barré syndrome are known to have experienced an infection before the onset of the condition. Most commonly, these are episodes of gastroenteritis or a respiratory tract infection. Approximately 30% of cases are provoked by Campylobacter jejuni, with a further 10% of cases attributable to cytomegalovirus. Despite this, only very few people with Campylobacter or cytomegalovirus infections develop the syndrome. Links to other infections are less certain. Most people make a full recovery within a few weeks or months and do not have any further problems. However, some people may take longer to recover and there is a possibility of permanent nerve damage. There are therapies that lessen the severity of the illness and accelerate the recovery in most patients.

I have been informed that officials from the Health Service Executive met members of local environmental groups from the Louth-Meath area on 28 January in Navan. These groups voiced concerns that a number of the cases were related to environmental issues in the Duleek area. However, it was clarified that the majority of confirmed cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome are linked to a previous episode of infection, a vaccination or a surgical intervention, rather than to environmental factors. The department of public health in the north east has agreed to follow up on these cases to try to identify possible causes for this apparent cluster of cases. This will include meeting with the individual patients in the near future to further that investigation. I hope that when these meetings take place, the concerns regarding whether this is water borne or whether there are other environmental issues will come up and, if there is need for further investigation, that this will be taken on board.