79 have lost their ability to taste or smell after taking the H1N1 swine flu vaccine in Norway.

79 have lost their ability to taste or smell after taking the H1N1 swine flu
vaccine in Norway.

2009 Nov/Dec

Silje Marie Vatvik lost both taste and smell after taking the vaccine
against swine flu. She has been sick for several weeks.

"People do not understand what it means to have taste and odor. I do not
taste the food and can therefore do not want to swallow it. It inhibits me
socially because I can attend dinner functions, " says Silje Marie Vatvik.

The 30-year-old who lives in Longyearbyen, was one of the first to receive
the vaccine against swine flu. She worked in the department responsible for
preparedness initiatives at the airport and was expected by her employer to
be vaccined the same day first vaccines arrived on October 21.

"Had I not been expected to take the vaccine, I would have at least had the
option, and the first thing I asked about were the side effects,", said
Vatvik.

Vatvik was not prepared for what was to come after the vaccination, losing
both her ability to taste and smell. She has not recovered these senses
since taking the vaccine. The hospital administered many tests but the
30-year old has not responded to any of them.

"They kept all options open since it could have been a coincidence and
nothing to do with the vaccine. But it was ultimately the one cause that
remained," she says.

Vatvik is on sick leave indefinitely due to the illness. "I think about food
all the time, have little energy and I'm irritable because I have low blood
sugar," she says.

"There has been much talk about the vaccine not being tested, but it has
been accepted in other countries before Norway. I know that foreign websites
have been written about the loss of smell and taste associated with the
vaccine, so it is strange that they were not more informed about it," said
Vatvik.

When she went to the hospital, no one had heard of any similar cases. Now 79
people are suffering the same side effects notes the Norwegian Medicines
Agency. They have no explanation for why some have lost their taste and
smell after flu vaccine.

"It was unknown to us in advance that the loss of taste and sense of smell
could be a side effect," said a spokesman from the Norwegian Medicines
Agency, Steinar Madsen.

Madsen could not address why some patients suffer from the side effect. "We
have no explanation for why it happens. We can not say for sure whether it
has a relationship with the vaccine. There are other explanations, like that
you get a viral infection while taking the vaccine," says Madsen.

When asked how long the patients it will take patients to recover, Madsen
said, "I can not answer. I have talked to one patient who told me that she
was well again after a couple of weeks."

"john" wrote in message
...
79 have lost their ability to taste or smell after taking the H1N1
swine flu vaccine in Norway.


This could be a blessing in disguise for Jan's husband.

On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:17:26 +0000, john wrote:

79 have lost their ability to taste or smell after taking the H1N1 swine
flu vaccine in Norway.

2009 Nov/Dec


Meanwhile, over 1,000 people in the USA have died of H1N1. Your point?

--
MarkA
Keeper of Things Put There Only Just The Night Before
About eight o'clock