Steven Hillstrom v. HHS - Hepatitis B, Guillain-Barre syndrome / chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) (2025)

On April 22, 2022, Steven Hillstrom filed a petition alleging that a hepatitis B vaccine administered on September 4, 2020 caused a demyelinating neuropathy diagnosed as Guillain-Barre syndrome or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. He was 55 years old and had a long history of Crohn's disease.

Shortly before the neurologic illness, he began Humira for Crohn's disease after a first hepatitis B dose in July 2020 and before the second dose in September. Mr.

Hillstrom did not report an immediate reaction to the second hepatitis B dose. In October 2020, he began reporting sensory symptoms, body pain, shoulder pain, numbness in the lips, fingertips, and feet, brain fog, and difficulty moving.

Mayo Clinic records later described demyelinating sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy, and clinicians considered CIDP. IVIG helped, and later records continued to reference CIDP.

Petitioner relied on neurologist Dr. Norman Latov, who argued that hepatitis B vaccine could cause GBS/CIDP through molecular mimicry and related immune mechanisms, citing literature including myelin-related mimicry theories and case reports.

Respondent relied on neurologist Dr. Kathleen Jamieson, who emphasized Mr.

Hillstrom's Crohn's disease and Humira exposure as more likely explanations and disputed the fit with Table GBS or vaccine-causation timing. Chief Special Master Corcoran found that petitioner had not proven by preponderant evidence that the hepatitis B vaccine caused his condition.

The petition was denied on November 7, 2025.