Guillain-Barré Syndrome

At a glance

• Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare condition that causes nerve damage.
• Symptoms include muscle weakness, tingling, and sometimes paralysis.
• Campylobacter infection is one of the most common causes of GBS in the United States.

Overview

Guillain-Barré (Ghee-YAN Bah-RAY) syndrome happens when a person’s immune system harms their nerves. This harm causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.

Symptoms

Early symptoms of GBS include weakness and tingling.

People with GBS usually first feel these symptoms in both legs. Then, they might feel these symptoms in their arms and upper body.

Symptoms can progress over hours, days, or weeks.

The weakness can increase until people cannot use some muscles. In severe cases, people can become paralyzed.

Outlook

People with GBS need to be hospitalized.

Most people start to recover 2–3 weeks after symptoms start. Recovery may take as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years.

Most people recover fully, but some have permanent nerve damage. Some people have died from GBS.

Causes of GBS

Campylobacter infection

Campylobacter infection is one of the most common causes of GBS in the United States.

Campylobacter and GBS

About 1 in every 1,000 people with Campylobacter infection gets GBS.

At least 1 in every 20 people with GBS had a recent Campylobacter infection.*

*Some studies found as many as 8 in every 20 people with GBS had a recent Campylobacter infection.

Other causes

Several other things can lead to GBS. These include:

• Diarrhea or a respiratory illness: About 2 in every 3 people had diarrhea or a respiratory illness before developing GBS.
• Viral infection: Some people with GBS had the flu or infection with cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, Zika virus, or other viruses.
• Vaccination: Very rarely, people have developed GBS after getting certain vaccines.

Keep in mind

Benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. For example, studies have shown that people are more likely to get GBS after having the flu than after getting a flu vaccine.

Other information about GBS

GBS is rare

CDC estimates that only about 3,000–6,000 people develop GBS each year in the United States.

Risk factors

Anyone can develop GBS. However, in the United States, GBS is more common in men and people older than 50.

Outbreaks

GBS is not contagious and outbreaks of GBS are very rare.

Most often, an outbreak of GBS is linked to another outbreak. For example, a GBS outbreak can happen if more than one person involved in an outbreak of Campylobacter infections develops GBS.

See AlsoAn outbreak of GBS that spanned an international border

Resources

To learn more about GBS, including diagnosis and treatment

• Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider.
• Read the Guillain-Barré factsheet from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.

On This Page

• Overview
• Causes of GBS
• Other information about GBS
• Resources

Aug. 12, 2026

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National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)About This Page

Published: May 15, 2024

Updated: August 12, 2026This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: August 12, 2026The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.

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