http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1033000/1033918.stm

Tuesday, 21 November, 2000, 13:18 GMT

Grandmother dies after flu jab

A Glasgow grandmother has died after being given a flu jab.

Rita Gillooly, 66, was struck by a condition which is only rarely linked to the vaccine.

Her family said that Mrs Gillooly, from Milton, took ill two days after receiving the injection.

She was diagnosed as suffering from Guillain Barre Syndrome - a condition which affects the nervous system and paralyses sufferers.

She died at the city's Southern General Hospital last Thursday just over a week after she was given the injection at her GP's surgery.

Her family said doctors had told them the jab brought on the condition.

Son John, 28, confirmed that she took ill a couple of days after receiving the flu jab.

"She was taken to Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow and then moved to the Southern General neurological unit," he said.

Intensive care

"She went paralysed from the feet up and we thought she had had a stroke.

"She was taken into intensive care and had to be put on a ventilator - but she deteriorated and died.

"The doctors said that the flu jab caused her illness.

"She had had a heart by-pass operation, but she was a fit woman and a month ago she was climbing the Giant's Causeway."

No-one at the Southern General Hospital was available to comment.

However, a doctor at the hospital, Dr Hugh Willison, is reported to have told the Daily Record that between 50 and 100 people die from the condition in Scotland each year.

"Only one or two per cent will be connected to the flu vaccine," he said.

"I would advise people to see their doctor if they are worried about the affects of the injection, but I would have no qualms about having it myself. The risks are minimal."

Mr Gillooly said: "We are not advising people not to have the flu jab, but we think people should be aware of what can happen.

Flu epidemic

"Most people won't be affected like my mum was, but there should be more research into what can happen."

Mr Gillooly added that his father John, 67, was devastated.

Earlier this month doctors warned that Scotland could be hit by its worst flu epidemic in 20 years.

GPs urged those who still have not been immunised to be vaccinated immediately before the start of the "flu season".

More than half a million people in Scotland have already received the jab as part of a £10m programme.

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.