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GENEVA (AFP) – Twelve countries have reportable suspected cases of narcolepsy linked to swine flu jabs, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday as its scientists said the findings warranted more investigation.

The WHO said in a statement that such rest disorders, mainly in youngsters, had not been seen with vaccines in the past, and were more frequent in Sweden, Finland and island than in another countries.

However, the UN health agency decided to keep its advice in favour of vaccination, including with the Pandemrix immunogen highlighted in the study, because it ease modify the benefits outweighed a relatively small risk, spokeswoman Alison Brunier said.

Narcolepsy is a rest modify which causes extreme fatigue and often results in the patient dropping soundly asleep without warning, modify in the region of an activity.

The Pandemrix immunogen made by GlaxoSmithKline was utilised in 47 countries worldwide during 2009-2010, according to WHO, and was included by the agency in donations made to poor nations during the flu pandemic.

The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) terminal hebdomad reviewed data from a Finnish study, which institute that children injected with the Pandemrix flu immunogen were figure times more probable to contract narcolepsy than those who were not vaccinated.

"The NGO agrees that boost enquiry is warranted concerning narcolepsy and vaccination against contagion (H1N1) 2009 with Pandemrix and another pandemic H1N1 vaccines," the WHO said.

"An accumulated venture of narcolepsy has not been observed in association with the ingest of some vaccines whether against contagion or another diseases in the past," it added.

The dweller Medicines Agency (EMA) has also launched a probe into the suspected connection.

"Since August 2010, following widespread ingest of vaccines against contagion (H1N1) 2009, cases of narcolepsy, especially in children and adolescents, have been reportable from at least 12 countries," the WHO added.

Brunier noted that the EMA -- the restrictive embody responsible for approbatory the immunogen -- had not taken some action. "There's no modify to the WHO's current position on ingest of pandemic contagion vaccines," she added.

"This effectuation that countries should move protection against H1N1 to vaccinate persons at venture of nonindulgent disease, using monovalent vaccines including Pandemrix if there is no trivalent seasonal immunogen available," she added.

Monovalent vaccines target a single lineage of flu while trivalent vaccines, more commonly utilised every flu season, are effective against three strains.

The preliminary think by Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) publicised a hebdomad ago said the most probable account of the ornament institute in four to 19 year olds was the "joint effect of the immunogen and some another factor(s)."

It heavy that more enquiry was needed.

Last August, THL advisable discontinuing its ingest against A(H1N1) until it could think the signs of a connection.

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