Declining Guillain-Barré Syndrome after Campylobacteriosis Control, New Zealand, 1988–2010

摘要

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune condition that affects the peripheral nervous system. Patients typically describe ascending weakness and sensory disturbance that evolve over several days; during this acute phase, approximately one third of patients require ventilatory support. The condition is generally self-limiting, but for 3%–10% of patients, it is fatal (1).An estimated 40%–70% of patients with GBS had an infection before GBS onset; for 6%–39% of these patients, the infection affected the gastrointestinal system (2). Campylobacteriosis is the most commonly identifi ed antecedent infection; several studies have shown that in industrialized countries (Europe, North and South America, Japan, and Australia), Campylobacter spp. infection preceded GBS for 20%–50% of patients (3,4).