Causes of Guillain-Barre syndrome

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It is still unclear what actually causes Guillaine-Barre syndrome, but it is generally thought to be caused by an allergic reaction to a virus that causes conditions such as diarrhoea, sore throat or flu. This makes the immune system damage the protective covering of the peripheral nerves (myelin sheaths) and stops the nerves from sending signals to the muscles, causing the tingling, weakness and eventual short-term paralysis that you might experience.

Although there is no scientific proof, the following may be other possible causes of Guillain-Barre:

viruses, for example cytomegalovirus (a member of the herpes group),
bacterial infections (such as salmonella poisoning),
Hodgkin's disease, (tumour of the lymph glands - the small, bean-sized organs that carry white blood cells),
and immunization (such as the influenza vaccine) in very rare cases.