Whooping cough vaccine not as powerful as thought

 

…Of the 18 students in the recent Cobb cluster, 17 were properly immunized with five doses of DTaP vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, health officials said.

 

…But scientists are struggling to understand why reports of pertussis cases have risen dramatically since the 1980s. It may reflect more testing or diagnosis; it may reflect the cyclical nature of the disease. It’s even unclear how often clusters like the one in Cobb occur.

 

…

About 10,000 cases and 20 infant deaths were reported in the United States last year, but some studies have suggested the number of people sickened each year may be closer to 300,000, CDC officials said.

Experts believe the disease is underdiagnosed and underreported in vaccinated school-age children and adults who often have milder symptoms and whose childhood shots have worn off. They believe that adolescents and adults are spreading the disease to vulnerable infants and children.

 

…While no vaccine is 100 percent effective, some parents are surprised and angry that a vaccine they trusted is failing to protect some children. And officials with the Georgia Division of Public Health said too many local doctors are not aware the disease is circulating in the community and can infect fully vaccinated children.

 

…

Nationally, school-age children diagnosed with the disease are generally teenagers, which is what prompted a CDC advisory panel in 2005 to recommend an additional pertussis booster shot at age 11 or 12.

To try to determine the magnitude of the problem at the four Cobb schools, last month CDC and local health officials gave voluntary pertussis tests to 108 children and staff who were currently coughing, and 22 of them showed evidence of recent infection, said Julie Gabel, a state health department epidemiologist.

Despite the study’s test results, some doctors refused to believe parents when they said that their children had pertussis. “More than one said to the parent: ‘Well, your child couldn’t have had pertussis, your child’s been vaccinated,” Gabel said, adding that the department is working to educate physicians.

At the four schools, health officials think the outbreaks are over or winding down. But whooping cough continues to be reported elsewhere. Georgia health officials aren’t aware of any other current whooping cough clusters.

…“The real issue is what the rate of vaccine failure is,” said Orenstein, a former CDC official who recently became deputy director for vaccine preventable diseases at the Gates Foundation in Seattle…

 

PERTUSSIS CASES

U.S.

2009* 1,699

2008 10,007

2007 10,454

2006 15,631

2005 25,617

2004 25,827

2003 11,647

 

* Year so far

Source: CDC

Flame retardant creates hyperactive mice

Flame retardant creates hyperactive mice

 

A commonly used flame retardant routinely found in people and house dust alters behavior and brain development in mice, causing hyperactivity and adjustment difficulties that worsened with age.

 

A chemical that makes electronics and other household products safe from fire disrupts behavior in mice, suggesting that the chemical alters brain development. The behavioral effects were seen at fairly low doses, were worse at the higher doses tested and grew stronger as the mice aged.

The findings indicate that very early life exposure to the chemical — called deca-BDE — has lasting effects on the brain. The chemical may affect behavior by interfering with a neurotransmitter — a nervous system signaling molecule — called acetylcholine.

Polybrominated biphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are common flame retardant chemicals used in consumer products. Foam padding in furniture, upholstery and electronics can contain the fire reducing agents.

Deca-BDE is a specific, widely-used type of PBDE. Two other commercial PBDE mixtures — octa and penta — are largely banned or discontinued in the US and around the world.

This is one of the first studies to examine how deca-BDE might affect the brain. Other studies find brain development effects from exposure to other forms of PBDEs.

In general, PBDEs are released from products and contaminate the indoor and outdoor environments. Most exposure for adults and children is likely through food and dust.

Levels in dust are higher in US homes than in Europe, and may be particularly high in California, the state with the strongest furniture flammability standards. A recent study found that PBDE levels in California homes were 4-10 times higher than in other US homes and up to 200 times higher than in European homes.

The same is true for people. Americans have between 10 and 100 times higher PBDE levels in their bodies than Europeans and Japanese. Californians have twice as much in their blood as other Americans.

Male mice in this study ate a single dose of 1.4, 2.3, 14 or 21 micromoles deca-BDE per kilogram of body weight on their third day of life. Their behavior and  nervous system were evaluated when the mice were adults, at 2 and 4 months old.

The treated mice showed significantly more hyperactive behavior (locomotion, rearing and total activity) and decreased ability to adjust to new surroundings at both 2 and 4 months old. The differences were more pronounced at the higher doses for both age groups and worsened in the older group as the animals aged.

The chemical in your baby’s bottle

The Chemical in Your Baby’s Bottle

 

…One chemical that has received a lot of attention lately is Bisphenol A, or BPA, an ingredient in plastics used to make reusable food and beverage containers (including baby bottles). It also coats the insides of food and beverage cans. Humans come in contact with it mainly through eating, but inhalation and absorption through the skin have not been ruled out. Regular exposure to BPA, including among infants and children, is shown by its presence in blood, amniotic fluid, umbilical cords, and breast milk. Additionally, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detected BPA in the urine of 92.6 percent of the more than 2,500 Americans examined; levels were higher in children and adolescents than adults.

While BPA has its benefits, like preventing interactions between food items and metal cans, it has the biological actions of the female hormone estrogen. Why should we worry about that? Exposure to estrogenic chemicals during the time when our organs are developing, specifically during the fetal and neonatal periods and puberty, is a risk factor for breast and prostate cancers, malformations of reproductive organs, infertility, and alterations in brain development.

BPA was originally synthesized in 1891; in the 1930s it was considered for pharmaceutical use because of its estrogenic properties but was abandoned when diethylstilbestrol (DES) was found to be a more potent synthetic estrogen. DES was prescribed to at least 2 million women to prevent miscarriage under the assumption that during pregnancy “some estrogen is good, so more must be better.” By 1971, girls exposed to DES in the womb had developed an extremely rare vaginal cancer typically found in elderly women. This caused the Food and Drug Administration to ban its use by pregnant women.

 

…Since the chemical revolution when BPA and hundreds of other common chemicals containing hormonal agents were added to our lives, the incidence of many diseases and disorders has been on the rise, including early puberty, obesity, reduced sperm count, hyperactivity, genital malformations, breast cancer and prostate cancer. BPA has caused all of these in laboratory animals. Last year, a study of 1,455 adults, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, showed a positive correlation between urinary BPA levels and diabetes and heart disease.

BPA is regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, which considers 50 parts per million of BPA per day to be a safe dose. However, over 100 animal studies have found effects well below this dose. In fact, scientists have yet to find a harmless dose of BPA.

Why hasn’t BPA been banned? Mostly because BPA exposure cannot be associated with a single disease; the effects can be subtle and complications may appear years later. Animal studies revealed that BPA exposure during gestation contributed to behavioral disorders, obesity, diabetes, early puberty, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and infertility. In 2007, 38 international specialists on BPA signed the Chapel Hill Consensus Statement at a meeting organized by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences: Such a wide range of harmful effects, though found in laboratory animals, provided “great cause for concern” for “the potential for similar adverse effects in humans.” Experts at the National Toxicology Program agreed….

Formal Complaint Filed Against Journalist Covering Autism and MMR Jab Controversy

Press Release
http://www.thoughtfulhouse.org/pr/complaint-against-brian-deer.htm
For Immediate Release:
Mar 12, 2009

Dr. Andrew Wakefield Submits Detailed Document to PCC Showing Examples of Erroneous Published Information

 Read Full Complaint: Submission to the UK Press Complaints Commission
http://www.thoughtfulhouse.org/pr/complaint-against-brian-deer.pdf

A formal complaint against journalist Brian Deer was delivered to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) today on behalf of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the physician whose autism research has been the subject of several articles in the Sunday Times. Deer is accused in the PCC document of publishing incorrect information and also of having a conflict of interest caused by his involvement in the General Medical Committee’s (GMC) investigation of Wakefield.

“Journalists clearly have a right and responsibility to report on matters of public interest”, Wakefield said. “But they also have an obligation to make certain their information is accurate–especially when someone’s livelihood and professional reputation are at stake. Mr. Deer has failed miserably as a reporter and has done great harm to me and many others conducting autism research.”

Information contained in the PCC filing listed numerous instances of Deer’s failure to obtain and report accurate information for a story in the February 9, 2009 Sunday Times that wrongly accused Wakefield of distorting data. As an example, Deer wrote that no doctors have been able to replicate Wakefield’s 1998 Lancet study that showed intestinal inflammation in children with autism. However, in the past four years three separate studies have all shown a similar association between autism and intestinal inflammation in children.

“Time and again, Mr. Deer cherry-picks information and ignores data that contradict his premise,” Wakefield added. “Further, he shouldn’t even be writing about my case since he is on record as having filed the original complaint with the GMC and has become complicit in the agency’s investigation by supplying documents and evidence from children’s medical records. This is hardly impartial journalism.”

Although Deer has consistently denied he is the source of the first complaint that launched the GMC”s investigation on Feb. 24, 2004, three days after he wrote his first article on Wakefield Deer contacted the GMC caseworker Tim Cox-Brown via email: “I write to ask your permission to lay before you an outline of evidence that you may consider worthy of evaluation with respect of the possibility of serious professional misconduct…”.

Deer, writing for a major publication under the pretense of objectivity, has also made numerous slurs on his website against Dr. Wakefield and his supporters. The biases, conflicts of interest, and inaccurate information used by Deer are all detailed in the complaint delivered to the PCC.

Wakefield, who now lives in Austin, Texas, is continuing his research at Thoughtful House Center for Children dedicated to serving children with autism and other developmental disorders. Wakefield and his colleague from Thoughtful House, Dr. Bryan Jepson, are speaking at the Treating Autism 2nd International Biomedical Conference and Exhibition at the Bournemouth International Centre, Mar. 12-14.

About Thoughtful House: Thoughtful House takes a multi-disciplinary approach to treating autism and supports a ‘safety-first’ vaccination policy that gives parents the option of choosing a stand-alone measles vaccine for their children. The research program at Thoughtful House is dedicated to understanding the biological origins of childhood developmental disorders and establishing best practices in treating children affected by these disorders.

Contact: James C. Moore
512.300.9232
media@thoughtfulhouse.org

Corvallis lab comes up with drug to combat smallpox

Corvallis lab comes up with drug to combat smallpox

Scientists in a Corvallis laboratory, backed by $100 million in federal contracts, have concocted a drug they hope will never be needed, against a deadly virus that hasn’t infected anyone in more than 30 years.

The drug would treat smallpox, an ancient scourge eradicated by global vaccination. The last case of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949; the last worldwide, in Somalia in 1977. It is the only infectious human disease ever erased.

But since the 2001 terrorist attacks, concern that human error or bioterror could unleash the small remaining quantities of smallpox virus has renewed interest in drugs against such a disaster. With that interest, U.S. spending on biodefense has multiplied twentyfold, to about $8 billion in 2005.

Siga Technologies Inc. in Corvallis is a beneficiary of that fear.

Siga’s search for an antiviral smallpox drug started before 2001, but Sept. 11 accelerated its work and opened the federal spigot for research and development to counter biological warfare.

The drug is named ST-246. Siga hopes the Food and Drug Administration will approve it “sometime in 2010,” says Dennis Hruby, chief scientific officer.

“It’s phenomenal that we’re able to develop a drug that potentially could have global impact,” Hruby says. “It’s a real shot in the arm for Oregon.”

Smallpox is one of many devastating illnesses — including malaria, yellow fever, measles, typhus, typhoid fever and diphtheria — introduced to the Americas by Europeans.

Collectively, the diseases decimated Native tribes, who had no natural immunity to them.

About 54 million people lived in the New World when Columbus arrived in 1492, including 25 million Aztecs and 12million Incas, estimates geographer William Denevan, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin.

By 1700, that population had plummeted by nearly 80percent. Denevan calls the early American disease epidemics “possibly the greatest demographic disaster in the history of the world,” saying it eclipsed the Black Death of medieval Europe.

Still, Native cultures in the Northwest thrived into the late 1700s. But a century later, “These cultures were shattered,” anthropologist Robert Boyd has written.

Their numbers, throughout what is now Oregon and Washington, fell from 180,000 to about 40,000, Boyd says in his book, “The Coming of the Spirit of Pestilence: Introduced Infectious Diseases and Population Decline Among Northwest Coast Indians, 1774-1874.”

By statehood, Oregon’s Native population had dwindled to an estimated 7,000, says Judy Chambers, research librarian at the Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City. Smallpox was a factor, along with war and violence.

How much of the infection was an early example of bioterror — intentional pollution of wells or distribution of infested blankets — remains a matter of fierce historical debate. But throughout the Americas, smallpox spread like wildfire.

“They didn’t have to pass out contaminated blankets,” says Stephen Greenberg, a researcher at the National Library of Medicine. “They just had to sit down and have dinner with those folks — and, bang, smallpox and measles would spread.”

A generation after smallpox’s eradication, society has become lax and naive about it, Siga’s Hruby warns.

Smallpox is as contagious as the common cold, spreading via airborne saliva droplets from the infected person, or contaminated clothes and bedding. Symptoms include high fever, fatigue, body aches and a rash. About 30 percent of those exposed die.

The federal government ranks biological warfare threats — A, B or C — by how lethal and contagious they are.

“A is for the really bad guys,” Siga’s Hruby says. Smallpox is one of six A-team “bad guys,” along with anthrax, botulism, hemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola), plague and tularemia.

Smallpox is “one of the most dangerous potential biological weapons because it is easily transmitted from person to person, and because few people carry full immunity,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Congress seven weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks. People vaccinated before 1972, when the immunization requirement was lifted in the United States, “very likely have diminished immunity,” he testified.

The vaccine, discovered by English physician Edward Jenner in 1796, is made from a related pox virus and does not contain smallpox. CDC says it has enough vaccine stockpiled to immunize the U.S. population in an emergency.

Small quantities of the smallpox virus are kept under tight security in two laboratories, one in Russia and the other at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The World Health Organization, which originally recommended the stocks be destroyed, now favors their preservation for developing new vaccines, antiviral drugs and diagnostic tests.

U.S. spending on biodefense has its critics. They consider the threat to public health overblown and the money it gets disproportionate to the need. Meanwhile other needs, from HIV to diabetes research, get shortchanged.

It’s not cheap, fast or easy to measure the effectiveness of a drug for possible use against a disease pronounced dead.

Siga’s ST-246 smallpox drug cannot be tested for efficacy in people because no human being has the disease. Monkeys are the closest animal match. But the drug can be tested for safety and side effects in humans without smallpox. Siga tested the drug against the actual smallpox virus in tissue culture and animals at the CDC lab, which is under top-grade security.

“The virus never leaves Atlanta,” Siga’s Hruby says.

The Corvallis lab, which employs about 50 people, has no direct financial ties with Oregon State University. But the two share what Hruby, an OSU graduate, calls “a close working relationship.”

If ST-246 gets approved, Hruby expects it to be sold in bulk to the military and the federal government for storage in the CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile. Some may also be sold to hospitals or large private employers for use in case of an emergency. He envisions the capsules packaged in vivid blister packs…

 

Smallpox Vaccine Appears Safe and Immunogenic

SAITAMA, Japan, March 10 — A live attenuated tissue-cultured smallpox vaccine — first used in children in the 1970s — is safe and immunogenic in adults, researchers here said.

The “third-generation” LC16m8 vaccine showed an immune response in nearly 95% of previously unvaccinated participants and in about 87% of those who had earlier been immunized, according to Yasuhiro Kanatani, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Defense Medical College in Saitama, Japan, and colleagues.

 

In a cohort of 3,221 participants, the researchers saw only two “possibly severe” adverse events that might have been caused by the vaccine, the researchers reported in the March 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

Aside from those two cases — one allergic dermatitis and one erythema multiforme — the researchers saw no signs of such adverse events as progressive or generalized vaccinia, encephalitis, or symptomatic myopericarditis.

 

Although smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, stocks exist for research in both the U.S. and Russia and there has been concern that bioterrorists could get their hands on — and unleash — the virus.

 

In the U.S., two vaccines are licensed, an older medication called Dryvax and ACAM2000, which was approved in 2007. But serious side effects — including encephalitis and endocarditis — have been reported for both.

 

LC16m8 has been licensed in Japan for 25 years and a U.S. phase I/II trial, reported in 2005, found promising immunogenicity with few side effects. (See: ASM: Investigational Smallpox Vaccine Shows Fewer Adverse Events)

 

In the 1970s, more than 100,000 Japanese children were given the vaccine, with good immune responses and few adverse events, Dr. Kanatani and colleagues said.

 

For this study, they examined clinical and immunological responses in adults, including 1,529 who had not previously been vaccinated.

 

The participants were examined 10 to 14 days after vaccination to determine if they had developed a major skin reaction, or “take,” and monitored for adverse events for 30 days.

 

Neutralizing antibody responses in a subset of 200 participants were assessed using a plaque-reduction neutralization test 30 days after vaccination.

 

The researchers found:

 

• Nearly 95% of vaccine-naive participants — 94.4% or 1,443 of 1,529 — had a “take,” compared with 86.6% (or 1,465 of 1692) of those who had previously been vaccinated.
• Seroconversion was studied in 45 vaccine-naive participants, but four did not “take” and were excluded. Among the remaining 41 volunteers, 37 (or 90.2%) had neutralizing antibody responses that indicated seroconversion.
• Among 155 previously vaccinated participants, neutralizing antibody responses indicated an effective booster response in 93 (or 60%).
• Most adverse events occurred with a frequency of less than 1%, except that 9% of participants reported swelling of axillary lymph nodes and 2% had low-grade fever.

 

The researchers noted that the study was too small to rule out severe adverse events, but they observed none — “consistent with past studies in children.”

 

They also pointed out that myopericarditis — observed in the U.S. program — has been a major concern surrounding adult smallpox vaccination.

 

“The sample size was limited to sufficiently verify the absence of myopericarditis,” the researchers said. “In addition, asymptomatic myopericarditis could not be excluded, because the sensitivity of ECG and measurement of troponin T levels 30 days post-vaccination is limited. A more appropriate time to perform ECG and quantify troponin T levels to detect myopericarditis is seven to 14 days after vaccination.”

 

The vaccine “appears to be a viable alternative to first-, second-, and other third-generation vaccines in a smallpox preparedness program,” they concluded.

Autism Timeline

Autism Timeline      

  in  Newsweek     1943-2009 (full timeline)

  

The Government Push for Electronic Medical Records

The Government Push for Electronic Medical Records  (MedScape Today-) *requires login

The economic stimulus plan currently being considered by Congress allocates $20 billion to health information technology such as electronic medical records (EMRs). Recent postings on Medscape Physician Connect (MPC), a physicians-only discussion board, offer frank opinions about the utility of EMRs in clinical practice — opinions that are decidedly mixed…

 

Waiting may not be an option for much longer, however. One provision of the government stimulus plan would impose reduced payments on physicians who are not “meaningfully using” information technology. Whatever is meant by the provision’s phrasing, one thing is clear: the push is on to go electronic. Physicians must learn how to make information technology work for them. One EMR expert says that it starts with the choice of systems. “Primary care practices should stay away from templates and stick to a new program by Praxis® [Infor-Med Medical Information Systems, Inc., Woodland Hills, California] that uses pattern recognition of similar cases as well as rare cases. It decreases the workload immensely. For specialty practices, I recommend templates, and Visionary™ Dream EHR [Visionary Medical Systems, Inc., Tampa, Florida] is excellent in being very user friendly,” says an MPC contributor whose research in medical management focuses on EMR systems.

Another MPC contributor notes that the technologically adventurous can customize an EMR system by using open-source software. In open-source systems, he explains, the source code needed for programming is included in the software, making the program infinitely adaptable. “When you buy most proprietary software, you have to accept the functions that come with it, as designed by the developers. With open-source systems, you can modify the software to your heart’s content…”

Is a Choice of Systems Really a Choice?

For some physicians, however, EMR systems remain a nonissue, and the heavy government funding of healthcare information technologies is nothing more than a smokescreen obscuring the real issues in primary care.

“The government and the public are not able to deal with the real problems facing medical practice and the real solutions necessary to turn it around (ie, reasonable reimbursement rates, malpractice reform, regulation of the unscrupulous practices of the insurance industry),” says an otolaryngologist. He adds that once healthcare information technology is “fully implemented and solves nothing, we can start to talk about real reform and real answers.”

 

Government Again Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism

 

Mysterious Vaccine Court created in 1986 by the pharmaceutical industry, with the support of Congress, rules in favor of Bailey Banks against HHS.

 

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Generation Rescue, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey’s Los Angeles-based non-profit autism organization, today announced that the United States Government has once again conceded that vaccines cause autism. The announcement comes on the heels of the recently unsealed court case of Bailey Banks vs. HHS. The ruling states, “The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine…a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to PDD [Autism].”

 

In a curious and hypocritical method of operation, the mysterious Vaccine Court not only protects vaccine makers from liability but supports a policy that has tripled the number of vaccines given to U.S. children – all after being made aware of the fact that these vaccines do, in fact, cause autism and repeatedly ruling in favor of families with children hurt by their vaccines.

 

“It was heartbreaking to hear about Bailey’s story, but through this ruling we are gaining the proof we need to open the eyes of the world to the fact that vaccines do, in fact, cause autism,” said Jenny McCarthy, Hollywood actress, autism activist, best-selling author and Generation Rescue board member. “Bailey Banks’ regression into autism after vaccination is the same story I went through with my own son and the same story I have heard from thousands of mothers and fathers around the country. Our hope is that this ruling will influence decision and policy-makers to help the hundreds of thousands of children and families affected by this terrible condition.”

 

Banks vs. HHS is the second known case where the Vaccine Court could not deny the overwhelming evidence showing vaccines caused a child’s autism. The first was the case of Hannah Poling in March of 2008, where the court found in her favor and awarded her family compensation.

 

Jim Carrey, Hollywood legend and Generation Rescue board member, reacted to the news, “It seems the U.S. government is sending mixed messages by telling the world that vaccines don’t cause autism, while, at the same time, they are quietly managing a separate ‘vaccine court’ that is ruling in favor of affected families and finding that vaccines, in fact, were the cause. For most of the autism community the question is no longer whether vaccines caused of their child’s autism. The question is why is their government only promoting the rulings that are in favor of the vaccine companies.”

 

Why is a secret court, which no one knows about or understands, quietly paying these families for vaccine injuries and autism? Deirdre Imus, Generation Rescue board member and founder of the Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology says, “Over the past 20 years, the vaccine court has dispensed close to $2 billion in compensation to families whose children were injured or killed by a vaccine. I am not against vaccines and my own child has been vaccinated. But, I share the growing concerns of many parents questioning the number of vaccines given to children today, some of the toxic ingredients in vaccines, and whether we know enough about the combination risks associated with the multiple vaccines given to children during critical developmental windows.”

 

To help spread the word of the Banks ruling, Generation Rescue also bought a full-page ad that will run in the USA Today on 02/25/2009, which has a daily circulation of 2,272,815.

 

Also see: Generation Rescue Ad in USA Today: Court Again Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism

Alert over tainted meningitis vaccine: 60,000-dose recall after tests uncover bug

Alert over tainted meningitis vaccine: 60,000-dose recall after tests uncover bug

Thousands of doses of meningitis C vaccine were recalled last night after a contamination scare.

The alert was sounded after tests found traces of the bug Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause blood poisoning.

About 60,000 doses are being recalled, a third of which had already been delivered to GP surgeries and health clinics in the past month.

It is not yet known how many have been given to babies.

Government health chiefs said the recall was a ‘precautionary measure’ and no adverse reactions have been recorded in children in the UK.

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the decision to recall the two batches was made just to be on the safe side, even though ‘there is no reason for UK children to be at any risk’.

She added: ‘The batches concerned were tested prior to release and complied with all tests, including the sterility test.

‘The tested samples that failed the sterility test were part of a non-routine study undertaken by the company and were not part of the UK market product. This is an entirely precautionary action.

‘There is no reason to believe the UK batches are at risk of the problems of the material that was tested. These batches have been withdrawn to ensure that there are no grounds for anyone to be concerned.’

A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘If people have had this vaccine recently and are concerned contact your GP or NHS Direct. We know which practices have received this vaccine and they will be contacted directly.’

The vaccine, sold under the trade name Menjugate, was manufactured and packed in Italy by Novartis.

A spokesman for the pharmaceutical company said it was working with the MHRA and Italian ministry of health to recall two batches of Menjugate Kit distributed in the UK.

She said: ‘We are investigating a sterility-testing positive result from samples of one lot of aluminium hydroxide solvent which was used for the packaging of two lots of Menjugate.

‘The solvent lot passed all release specifications; the subject result was identified during a special study. Novartis is committed to being a safe and reliable provider of vaccines.’

Millions of jabs for meningitis C are administered every year in Britain as part of the routine immunisation of babies at two, three and four months.

The safety alert affects doses of the vaccine given as boosters at four months.

Meningitis, in which the protective membranes around the brain become infected and inflamed, kills at least one in ten sufferers.

Some survivors suffer permanent complications such as brain damage, epilepsy and deafness.

A decade ago, Britain became the first country to routinely vaccinate against the meningitis C – a move believed to save 150 lives each winter.

The programme was brought in to prevent two out of five cases of the disease – the rest are caused by the B strain for which there is not yet an effective vaccine.

The group C bacteria was regarded as a special threat at the time because it formed a growing proportion of overall meningitis infections in Britain.

ANOTHER AUTISM CASE WINS IN VACCINE COURT

ANOTHER AUTISM CASE WINS IN VACCINE COURT

On February 12, the federal “Vaccine Court” in Washington issued a sweeping ruling in three highly touted “test cases” against families who claimed that their childrens’ autism had been caused by vaccines. The Special Masters in those three cases found that Petitioners failed to establish causation between MMR vaccines, the mercury-laced vaccine preservative thimerosal, and autism (the court decision, which is under appeal, deferred any finding on a thimerosal-only theory of causation). The rulings could have a significant precedential impact on some 5,000 families who opted to bring their cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings (OAP) hoping that the vaccine court would officially hold that the MMR vaccine or thimerosal had caused autism in their children.

The New York Times joined the government Health Agency (HRSA) and its big pharma allies hailing the decisions as proof that the scientific doubts about vaccine safety had finally been “demolished.” The US Department of Health and Human services said the rulings should “help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism.” The Times, which has made itself a blind mouthpiece for HRSA and a leading defender of vaccine safety, joined crowing government and vaccine industry flacks applauding the decisions like giddy cheerleaders, rooting for the same court that many of these same voices viscously derided just one year ago, after Hannah Poling won compensation for her vaccine induced autism.

But last week, the parents of yet another child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were awarded a lump sum of more than $810,000 (plus an estimated $30-40,000 per year for autism services and care) in compensation by the Court, which ruled that the measels-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine had caused acute brain damage that led to his autism spectrum disorder.

The family of 10-year-old Bailey Banks won their case quietly and without fanfare in June of 2007, but the ruling has only now come to public attention. In the remarkably clear and eloquent decision, Special Master Richard Abell ruled that the Banks had successfully demonstrated that “the MMR vaccine at issue actually caused the conditions from which Bailey suffered and continues to suffer.”

Bailey’s diagnosis is Pervasive Developmental Disorder — Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) which has been recognized as an autism spectrum disorder by CDC, HRSA and the other federal health agencies since at least the 1990s.

In his conclusion, Special Master Abell ruled that Petitioners had proven that the MMR had directly caused a brain inflammation illness called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) which, in turn, had caused the autism spectrum disorder PDD-NOS in the child:

The Court found that Bailey’s ADEM was both caused-in-fact and proximately caused by his vaccination. It is well-understood that the vaccination at issue can cause ADEM, and the Court found, based upon a full reading and hearing of the pertinent facts in this case, that it did actually cause the ADEM. Furthermore, Bailey’s ADEM was severe enough to cause lasting, residual damage, and retarded his developmental progress, which fits under the generalized heading of Pervasive Developmental Delay, or PDD [an autism spectrum disorder]. The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine, and that this chain of causation was… a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to Pervasive Developmental Delay.

The Bailey decision is not an isolated ruling. We now know of at least two other successful ADEM cases argued in Vaccine Court. More significantly, an explosive investigation by CBS News has found that since 1988, the vaccine court has awarded money judgments, often in the millions of dollars, to thirteen hundred and twenty two families whose children suffered brain damage from vaccines. In many of these cases, the government paid out awards following a judicial finding that vaccine injury lead to the child’s autism spectrum disorder. In each of these cases, the plaintiffs’ attorneys made the same tactical decision made by Bailey Bank’s lawyer, electing to opt out of the highly charged Omnibus Autism Proceedings and argue their autism cases in the regular vaccine court. In many other successful cases, attorneys elected to steer clear of the hot button autism issue altogether and seek recovery instead for the underlying brain damage that caused their client’s autism.

Continued

 

High levels of IgG4 antibodies to foods during infancy are associated with tolerance to corresponding foods later in life

High levels of IgG₄ antibodies to foods during infancy are associated with tolerance to corresponding foods later in life

Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2009: 20: 35-41.

Abstract:

Children with eczema and sensitization to foods are recommended skin care and, if food allergy is proven by challenge, an elimination diet. For most children the diet period is transient, but the process behind tolerance development and the influence of decreased allergen exposure is not fully known. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of elimination diet on serum and salivary antibodies and to identify immunological parameters related to the ability to tolerate foods. Eighty-nine children, below 2 yr of age, with eczema and suspected food allergy were included. Recommended treatment was skin care to all children, and 60 children had a period of elimination diet. At 4½ yr of age, the children were divided into two groups, based on if they had been able to introduce the eliminated foods, or not. Serum and salivary antibodies were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and UniCAP^® before and after a 6-wk treatment period and at 4½ yr of age. Children sensitized to egg and/or milk that could eat and drink the offending foods at 4½ yr of age, had higher levels of Immunoglobulin G₄ antibodies to ovalbumin and β-lactoglobulin and also higher IgG₄/Immunoglobulin E ratios on inclusion in the study, than those who had to eliminate egg and/or milk from their diet, beyond 4½ yr of age. The highest IgG₄/IgE ratios were found in children with circulating IgE antibodies to egg and/or milk but negative skin prick test on inclusion. The 6-wk treatment period did not significantly affect the levels of serum and salivary antibodies. In conclusion, eczematous, food sensitized infants with high levels of IgG₄ and high ratios of IgG₄/IgE antibodies to food allergens are more likely to consume these foods at 4½ yr than infants with low levels and ratios.

Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury…

 

Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury,

New Study Finds Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury

 

 

Minneapolis – Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brandname food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient—including products by Quaker, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.

 

 

HFCS use has skyrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has replaced sugar in

many processed foods. HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels.

 

 

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP’s David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. “Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are

calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable

mercury contamination of the food supply.”

 

 

In the Environmental Health article, Dufault et al. found detectable levels of mercury

in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. Dufault was working at the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration when the tests were done in 2005. She and co-authors conclude

that possible mercury contamination of food chemicals like HFCS was not common

knowledge within the food industry that frequently uses the sweetener. While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change industry practice or conduct additional testing.

 

 

For its report “Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” IATP

sent 55 brand-name foods and beverages containing HFCS as the first or second ingredient to a commercial laboratory to be tested for total mercury. Nearly one in three products tested contained detectable mercury. Mercury was most prevalent in HFCScontaining dairy products, followed by dressings and condiments. Attached is the summary list of the 55 products and their total mercury content.

 

 

In making HFCS, caustic soda is used, among other things, to separate corn starch

from the corn kernel. For decades, HFCS has been made using mercury-grade caustic soda produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants. The use of mercury cells to produce caustic soda can contaminate caustic soda, and ultimately HFCS, with mercury. “The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury,” said Dr. Wallinga. “The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients.”

 

 

While most chlorine plants around the world have switched to newer, cleaner technologies, many still rely on the use of mercury cells. In 2005, 90 percent of chlorine production was mercury-free, but just 40 percent of European production was mercury-free. Four U.S. chlor-alkali plants still rely on mercury cell technology. In 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama introduced legislation to force the remaining chlor-alkali plants to phase out mercury cell technology by 2012.

 

The Environmental Health article by Dufault et al. can be found at: http://www.ehjournal.net.

 

“Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” by David Wallinga, M.D., Janelle Sorensen,Pooja Mottl and Brian Yablon, M.D., can be found at: http://www.iatp.org.

 

IATP works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. www.iatp.org

Vaccinations: Safe or Unsafe?

by Lynda Lambert

In 1954, at the age of 8, I “read” an article in Life Magazine about polio and how it was treated. Stuck, even now, in my mind is the double-page picture of the children in iron lungs. It seemed like there were acres of them; as far as the eye could see. I learned only one thing from those pictures of iron lungs: I never wanted to be in one.So, when my mom said, “Don’t play in puddles?” I didn’t. And when my mom said, “Wash your hands!” I did. And, when the government said to all of us, line up to get your shot, I could hardly wait to get to the head of the line. I feared shots; but I feared polio more.

And when they told us to line up again a few years later and suck down Sabin’s sugar cube, I didn’t hesitate: the more immunization, the better.

I was not the only one who thought that way. For the last 50-plus years, the entire government structure, from the Centers for Disease Control to local departments of Education and the Congress of the United States, has based its public vaccination policy on that concept: the more immunization, the better.

However, given the natural exposure to disease—if there were no vaccines and no vaccinations—most children would only contract two to three childhood diseases in a lifetime. As example: I had measles and mumps; my sister had measles and scarlet fever (no vaccine for that). My daughter had a tendency toward croup, but her only disease in the “childhood” category was chickenpox, which she got at the age of 12. It is simply irrational to think that any child would be in a position to contract 11 to 15 different diseases in a lifetime

Government requires every child in the United States, if he or she is going to attend school, to have a minimum of 11 immunizations. In some states, it’s more; for instance, Maryland requires 15 immunizations.

However, government requires every child in the United States, if he or she is going to attend school, to have a minimum of 11 immunizations. In some states, it’s more; for instance, Maryland requires 15 immunizations. The Congress has recommended 22. These result in 36 to 60 injections for our children before the age of three. Averaged out at the top end, that’s 1.6 shots a month, beginning with their first month of life.

There are some serious problems with this. They fall into two main categories: the viruses themselves and the dilutions through which they are delivered.

Vaccines: too much disease

Imagine what would happen to your body if you, an adult with a mature immune system, contracted measles, mumps and Rubella at the same time. Are you saying, “Well, I’d probably die!”? Indeed. The human immune system, even when it’s fully mature, totally healthy and balanced, is simply not equipped to deal with that much disease all at one time. It is debilitating; it often causes what is called a compromised immune system, one that has difficulty performing the task for which nature designed it.

Yet, vaccines simulate disease. Inside the body, when a vaccination is given, our immune systems believe they are getting the disease. That’s why they react to the vaccine and create antibodies to it. And every time we shoot a child up with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine (MMR), we are simulating that hypothetical situation in which the child’s immature immune system thinks that it is getting all of these diseases at the same time.

The MMR & DPT

In the United States, the link between the MMR and autism continues to be denied by government and the drug companies; but there are proven statistical commonalities among children who have been vaccinated and autism. One study, for instance, showed that among the Amish, who do not vaccinate their children, there could only be found three cases of autism. All three of these children had come to the community from “outside” and all had been vaccinated.

The Diptheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DPT) shot is another that “infects” our children with three diseases at a time. And there are some definitive data that link the DPT shot to ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dissociative disorder, schizophrenia, seizures, Crohn’s disease, and, yes, autism. But, even without these possible long-term debilitating complications, the DPT has immediate deleterious effects.

“Assistant Secretary of Health Edward Brandt, Jr., MD, testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, rounded… figures off to 9,000 cases of convulsions, 9,000 cases of collapse, and 17,000 cases of high-pitched screaming for a total of 35,000 acute neurological reactions occurring within forty-eight hours of a DPT shot among America’s children every year.” (Coulter, HL and Fischer, BL quoted in Rappaport, J., 2003 [emphasis added])

Allergies

I am someone who carries a medic alert bracelet which says, “allergic to all tetanus toxoids.” I had so many tetanus shots as a child—when they gave them to you for every bee sting—that I will now go into anaphylactic shock if a tetanus shot is administered. The last tentanus shot I had was in 1960; I was violently ill for more than two weeks and almost died.

In 1965, I rammed my heel on a rusty nail, but convinced the doctor to test me for toxoid allergy before giving me a tentanus shot. He injected 1/100th of the normal dose under my skin. Then, as he was telling me to come back in two days so he could see the reaction, he suddenly went mute and sat amazed as my forearm swelled to twice its normal size. It stayed that way for more than two weeks. He did not, needless to say, give me that shot.

The reason my arm swelled up was because, as far as my immune system was concerned, the toxoid was an invading enemy that needed fighting. It had built up immunity to the shot itself. My system sent thousands of antibodies and plenty of blood to the location of the invasion to fight it; and, had I been injected, my system would have attacked my entire body to stop it.

Allergies indicate a malfunction of the immune response, and, as my case shows, can be caused by too much vaccination. But none of our children are tested for allergic reactions to these vaccines before they are administered, even though the onset of autism, for instance, does not usually occur until the second MMR shot— and it is known that 90% of immunity is produced by the first.

Allergic reactions, however, do not necessarily show themselves only in allergic reactions to the vaccinations. The corrupted immune response can show itself in allergies to other normal things, like food.

Today’s children have more allergies, particularly to food, than any generation before them. These responses are often life-threatening, systemic, and can be directly correlated to out-of-whack immune systems.

Food allergies are particularly symptomatic of immune system malfunction in the intestinal tract, as are bowel diseases, because 70% of our immune function is resident in our gastrointestinal tract. When the gastrointestinal tract is in good working order, then we have a 70% chance of remaining healthy, have few allergies, and few problems like diabetes and asthma. When it is out of balance, then the whole body gets out of balance.

Dr. Daniel More reports that “Allergy to egg, milk, soy, wheat, peanut and tree nuts represents 90% of all food allergies in children.” The peanut allergy, in particular, is ubiquitous. In 2007, Dr. Michael C. Young, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and a practitioner at Children’s Hospital, answered some questions about this for PBS. He said:

“The number of kids with peanut allergies has been increasing over the last ten to fifteen years. In the past five years, the number has doubled…. In fact, all allergic diseases in children—including food allergies, environmental allergies, asthma and eczema—have been increasing at similar rates over the last decade.”

DrGreene.com reports that “most children who develop life-threatening food allergies either have asthma or a family history of asthma, eczema, or hay fever.”

Interestingly, neither Dr. Young nor Dr. Green could come up with a reason. “No one knows why this is happening,” said Dr. Young. Yet, all of these conditions indicate a corrupted immune system. And what has been happening over the last 15 to 20 years that could corrupt young immune systems? Increased vaccination should top the list, one would think.

In a study of autistic children, doctors found a “high prevalence of histologic [tissue] abnormalities in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon, and dysfunction of liver conjugation capacity and intestinal permeability were reported. Three surveys conducted in the United States described high prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autistic disorder” (Horvath, K, and Perman, J.A.,2002).

In other words, children who had autism also had tissue disruptions in the very part of their bodies which hold 70% of their immune function. It is not too far to jump to assume that the immune system destruction may have contributed to the autism, and not the other way around.

I am fascinated by the fact that no doctor anywhere seems to want to even look at this relationship; yet it seems very plain and obvious. It’s not as if we haven’t openly recognized the dangers of vaccines in the past.

We made a good decision with smallpox 30 years ago. We stopped vaccinating for smallpox because the risk of the vaccination outweighed the risk of getting the disease. We recently stopped administering the Sabin live polio vaccine, because it had been causing children to get polio.

Even so, in an article about vaccination published by the Baltimore Sun (2008), a Dr. Neal Halsey was quoted as saying that, “One of the reasons that some parents have withheld measles vaccines is that they believe that the risk is very low. This is, unfortunately, a false belief.”

In fact, the parents are correct and Dr. Halsey is incorrect. The highest number of cases of measles in the U.S. in recent years reported by the CDC is 131; that makes the chance of getting measles approximately 1 in 2 million. If the MMR does, in fact, cause autism, then the risk for autism is much higher than the risk of getting the disease. The current risk of getting autism is 1 in 5.

Of course, many will say that the reason the risk of measles is so low is that children have been getting vaccinated against measles. And, though this may be true, the same was true for smallpox; the risk of the shot now outweighs the risk of getting the disease.

But it is not just the viruses themselves that cause problems; preservatives and contaminants must be considered when looking at these complications and reactions.

Additives, Preservatives and Dilutions

Everyone remembers the Mad Hatter from the tale of Alice in Wonderland. What some of you may not know is that mad hatters were very prevalent in 19th Century. In order to mold hats, the hatter would immerse the hat and his hands in vats of mercury, eventually—and unalterably—becoming poisoned. In the 21st century, we are still concerned with mercury poisoning. We stopped using mercury thermometers, for instance, because of the “risk”. We’ve stopped putting mercury in tooth fillings. But the fact is that these minute amounts of mercury did not cause direct harm. Large amounts, however, do.

An environmental website, Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, reported in 2005 that:

“Since the 1950s it has been known that when women eat fish highly contaminated with mercury, their children are at risk for mental retardation, seizures and other serious problems. Yet trash incinerators and coal-burning power plants continue to emit tons of mercury [70 million tons a day, to be exact], which builds up in the food chain to contaminate fish. The result is that many fish species are now unsafe to eat. Women of childbearing age and small children have been warned to no longer eat tuna steaks, shark, swordfish, or any fish from Massachusetts ponds and rivers. Eating these fish increases the risk of permanent harm (such as learning and attention problems) to the developing fetus or young child. In spite of this damage to an important food source, the industries that emit mercury continue to lobby against mercury reductions. Now 1 out of 10 women of child-bearing age have mercury levels that exceed the advised safe limit, putting untold numbers of future children at risk for learning and attention problems.” (emphasis added)

A website called Toxfaqs, posted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), states that:

“Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. … Mercury’s harmful effects… include brain damage, mental retardation, incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak. Children poisoned by mercury may develop problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage.”

The National Autistic Society writes that “75 symptoms of autism parallel those of mercury poisoning.” Recent experiments in treating autism as mercury poisoning are, in fact, resulting in some cures.

One wonders, then, why the government would compel us to deliberately pump more mercury into our children’s healthy bodies. Some Hepatitis B vaccines and the flu vaccine are still preserved with thimerosal, a trade name for a form of mercury preservative, which began being used as a preservative in vaccines since 1931.

You might be agreeing with the American Association of Pediatrics, saying, “Well, heck, if it’s been used since 1931, then it must be safe.” But, in fact, in 1931, the only vaccine that was given to children was smallpox; and it was never injected into the body, but was only pricked into the skin. And, even though it seems that that would not be enough to poison a child, it was the beginning of autism, which, up to that point, had never been documented before.

In 2001, two Massachusetts families, parents of autistic children, filed suit against the makers of “hepatitis B, diptheria/tetanus and other vaccines,” alleging that their children had been “poisoned with toxic mercury” (Hepatitis Week, vol. 1, 33).

HepB

Hepatitus B is a blood or fluid transmitted disease. Like HIV, it is prevalent among drug users and those who have unprotected sex. One would not think that an infant is not in need of a vaccination for a sexually transmitted disease, unless he or she has a chance of exposure in the womb. In British Columbia (BC), for example, the vaccine is only given to infants if they are “… born to a mother with hepatitis B or a mother at high risk of the infection, or a baby who has another household contact or a caregiver with hepatitis B infection.” And, in BC, the first shot is given at two months, after the baby’s breathing reflex, eating, etc., have stabilized.

But in the United States, where the CDC reports only 10,000 cases of the disease every year, unless the parents file a protest and say they will not allow the vaccination (which few parents are even told they can do), their perfect newborn baby will be vaccinated for HepB when he is only two hours old—even if there is no indication of current or potential exposure. At two hours old, a child’s body is still adjusting to being outside the womb and his entire immune system is dependent on his mother’s milk.

And, although other countries are more cautious, in the U.S., the HepB vaccination is considered “safe.” But what is “safe”?

Michael Belkin, who was at the time Director of the Hepatitis B Vaccine Project of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), in testimony before the Center of Disease Control’s (CDC) Committee on Immunization Practices in 1999, said the following in regard to HepB vaccine:

“As a UC Berkeley graduate and advisor to some of the largest financial institutions in the world, I am qualified to analyze and make conclusions about statistics. Based on that experience, I am astonished that the scientists on this Committee would disregard or cover up data showing the number and severity of adverse reactions to this vaccine. Science is observing and learning from what is observed. The assertions of the CDC that the many reported adverse reactions to this vaccine do not exist or are a coincidence violates the basic principle of science, which is rooted in the observation and analysis of data.

“A benefit/risk analysis of the hepatitis B vaccine for the average infant in America, not born to infected parents, must conclude that the VAERS data on adverse reactions shows the real-world risk of a newborn infant dying or being injured by the hepatitis B vaccine is a greater threat than the remote chance of contracting the primarily blood-transmitted disease. (emphasis added)

“My 5-week-old daughter, Lyla Rose, died within 16 hours of her hepatitisB vaccination, which she received because of the universal vaccination policy this Committee instituted in 1991. At her death, Lyla had four of the eight highest-reported symptoms in the VAERS hepatitis B vaccine adverse reaction data. The NY Medical Examiner observed brain swelling at the autopsy but refused to record that or mention the hepatitis B vaccine Lyla received in the autopsy report.” (Belkin)

Belkin also noted in further testimony that:

“…the CDC’s own Fact Sheet on the Hepatitis B disease does not include newborn babies as a risk group for that disease. That Fact Sheet lists the risk groups as injection drug users, homosexual men, sexually active heterosexuals, infants/children of immigrants from disease-endemic areas, low socio-economic level, sexual/household contacts of infected persons, infants born to infected mothers, health care workers and hemodialysis patients—NOT NEWBORN BABIES.”

HepB, however, does not just pose the risk of sudden death. Rheumatic fever, encephalitis, and optic neuritis, as well as other debilitating diseases are all on the list. For instance, in France, the HepB vaccine has been suspended for everyone, even adults, “due to its association with Multiple Sclerosis” (thinktwice.com).

How can this vaccine be listed as “safe”? Perhaps the reason is similar to why vaccines containing mercury were considered “safe” for so long.

The Kennedy Report

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in 2005, wrote a startling exposé concerning the relationship between mercury and an international increase in autism, and the government’s cover-up of that relationship. Among other things, he notes that as early as 1935 the safety of thimerosal was being questioned, and:

More than 500,000 kids currently suffer from autism, and pediatricians diagnose more than 40,000 new cases every year. The disease was unknown until 1943, when it was identified and diagnosed among eleven children born in the months after thimerosal was first added to baby vaccines in 1931….

Skeptics often say, well, if thimerosal is the culprit, then why are has the number of autistic cases only increased precipitously in children born between 1989 and 2003 (Kennedy, 2005). It is, quite obviously, the increase in the number of vaccinations required of this generation; every one of which, at that time, contained thimerosal.

“Russia banned thimerosal from children’s vaccines twenty years ago, and Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have since followed suit” (Kennedy, 2005). Yet, in this country, though many vaccines are no longer preserved with mercury, we do not recognize the connection. The reasons are exposed in Kennedy’s report. The Bush Administration, in power when a definitive connection between thimerosoal and autism was discovered—and heavily supported by the pharmaceutical industry—wanted to avoid lawsuits that might put those companies out of business, and so actively chose to cover-up the information.

Kennedy claims:

The CDC paid the Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of thimerosal, ordering researchers to “rule out” the chemical’s link to autism. It withheld Verstraeten’s findings [that directly linked autism and thimerosol], even though they had been slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his original data had been “lost” and could not be replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism.

To me, this is just plain stupid. If someone does something with good intentions, not knowing that it may be harmful, then they should not be held responsible. However, if they find that it is harmful, and yet keep doing it, then that is an altogether different matter. What the government did by covering up this information was commit a criminal act, which has so far resulted in the mental, emotional, and physical damage to thousands of children.

As one researcher put it in the Kennedy report:

“You couldn’t even construct a study that shows thimerosal is safe,” says Haley, who heads the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky. “It’s just too darn toxic. If you inject thimerosal into an animal, its brain will sicken. If you apply it to living tissue, the cells die. If you put it in a petri dish, the culture dies. Knowing these things, it would be shocking if one could inject it into an infant without causing damage.”

Mercury preservative is still used in vaccines exported to other countries; and, as noted above, in some HepB and flu vaccines; yet the government continues to require their administration. Just this winter (2008), the governor of New Jersey made flu shots for infants mandatory.

Admittedly, since 2000, most mercury preservatives have been removed in most vaccine shots in the U.S.; however, other additives and preservatives have taken its place. For instance, aluminum is now often added to vaccines.

In a study done on animals by the Department of Opthalmology and Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia and reported in Neuromolecular Medicine (2007), it was found that:

“Apoptotic neurons were identified in aluminum-injected animals that showed significantly increased activated caspase-3 labeling in lumbar spinal cord (255%) and primary motor cortex (192%) compared with the controls. Aluminum-treated groups also showed significant motor neuron loss (35%) and increased numbers of astrocytes (350%) in the lumbar spinal cord.” (Note: Apoptosis—the syndrome caused by apoptotic neurons—is, according to Webster’s medical dictionary, “a … process of cell self-destruction that is marked by the fragmentation of nuclear DNA,”)

The adult HepB vaccine contains “… aluminum phosphate and aluminum hydroxide as adjuvants and 2-phenoxyethanol as a preservative.” (CDC, 2006)

Kennedy reports that, in 1982, “Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the fathers of Merck’s vaccine programs” suggested that there were “non-toxic alternatives” to these preservatives, and “‘The best way to go… is to switch to dispensing the actual vaccines without adding preservatives.”

But, even if the government were to finally follow that advice, the fact is that preservatives are not the only problem.

Other Toxins

Much has been made of the toxins in cigarettes. Second-hand smoke has been linked—albeit with many qualifiers—to every childhood ailment from sudden infant death to asthma. Yet, even if you consider impossible exposure to cigarette smoke—24/7 in a non-vented environment—the amount of these chemicals entering the body are minuscule compared to those that would enter the body if those chemicals were directly injected into a child’s bloodstream.

You, say, “But this would never happen!” Well… cigarette toxins include formaldehyde, benzene, acetone, ammonia, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, and more; vaccine toxins include formaldehyde, antifreeze, acetone, disinfectant, borax, and latex, and more. The biggest difference is that the vaccine toxins are directly injected into a child’s body every time he or she receives a vaccination.

Vaccines also can contain some unique toxins that do not occur in cigarettes, such as MSG, methanol, dye, and glycerine. Then, too, a vaccine may include “ingredients” that supposedly support the actual immune response, such as “aborted human foetus cells,” “mutated human viruses,” and “animal organ tissues and blood.”

One of the most effective vaccines—and supposedly one of the “safest” because it contains no preservatives of any kind—is the chicken-pox vaccine (Varivax). The Merck website lists the following ingredients.

Each 0.5 mL dose contains the following: a minimum of 1350 PFU (plaque forming units) of Oka/Merck varicella virus when reconstituted and stored at room temperature for 30 minutes, approximately 25 mg of sucrose, 12.5 mg hydrolyzed gelatin, 3.2 mg sodium chloride, 0.5 mg monosodium L-glutamate, 0.45 mg of sodium phosphate dibasic, 0.08 mg of potassium phosphate monobasic, 0.08 mg of potassium chloride; residual components of MRC-5 cells including DNA and protein; and trace quantities of sodium phosphate monobasic, EDTA, neomycin, and fetal bovine serum.

Are any of these substances that you want in your child’s bloodstream? Serum made from cow fetuses? Potassium chloride? MSG?

Is it worth it?

Vaccination is dangerous. There is simply no getting around that. Yet, if it really works to stop some of the most dangerous diseases from spreading and decimating whole populations, then it is worth it. And there is some evidence that it does work. Still, there is some evidence that it doesn’t.

In investigating the effectiveness of vaccines, I found, for instance, that polio was already on the decline when the polio vaccine was administered to thousands of us.

In some instances, as with whooping cough, I found that vaccination does not seem to have any effect, or may have a negative effect. As well, there is some evidence that with increased vaccination for pertussis came increases in the number of cases of pertussis. A report in Lancet, the British medical journal, stated that:

“While 70-80% of British children were immunized against pertussis in 1970-71…, in 1970/71, there were more than 33,000 cases of pertussis with 41 fatal cases among the very well immunized British child population; whereas in 1974/75, with a declining rate of vaccination [39%], a pertussis epidemic caused only 25,000 cases with 25 fatalities.” (Ehrengut, 1978)

And the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that,

“Administration of KMV [killed measles vaccine] apparently set in motion an aberrant immunologic response that not only failed to protect children against natural measles, but resulted in heightened susceptibility.” (1980, vol. 244, p. 804).

And then, there are some vaccines whose effectiveness simply wanes with time. The chickenpox vaccine, for instance, has been shown to lose its effectiveness after 10 years. This is a problem, because chickenpox when one is age 5 or 10 is not dangerous, but chickenpox as an adult can be very dangerous.

Or, sometimes, the vaccinations simply don’t “take” and children are susceptible to the disease anyway. In a Baltimore Sun article, it was noted that in a study measuring the effectiveness of vaccines, of 131 children who came down with measles, “… 11 of the 131 had been vaccinated.” That means that even with vaccination, that group still had a 30% chance of getting the disease.

A New York Times article gave another measles example that occurred in 1994. “Out of 625 children exposed to the disease, 17 got measles. Of those 609 who had previously been vaccinated, only 10 (or 1.6%) developed measles. Of the 16 children who were not immunized, 7 (or 44%) developed measles. Thus, the risk for immunized children was less than 2% while the risk for un-immunized children was 44%.”

It is true that “7 of 16” equals 44%, that does not equate to a 44% chance of getting the disease. Indeed, it seems to me that to get the correct percentages, one would need to compare both 7 and 10 to the full complement of the study, which, if one does so, shows that of 625 children, immunized children, had a 1.6% chance of getting the disease and unimmunized children had a 1.1% chance of getting the disease.

It is often said that un-immunized children pose a risk to immunized children, but that should not be the case. If one is immunized, then the unimmunized should carry no risk at all. Unimmunized children should have a higher risk of getting the disease; however, based on the above numbers, this appears to be incorrect.

Conclusion

New vaccines are being discovered all the time, and most of them are immediately slated for the childhood immunization requirements. Gardasil, for instance, hit the world by storm. Wow! A vaccine to save girls from cervical cancer. Gotta use it!

In fact, it was so well sold that it whizzed through FDA approval, and was adopted as mandatory for girls over 12 in Texas, and the UK placed it on the list of mandatory vaccinations for children in 2007. All that was before three healthy young women died within days of receiving the vaccine… before a series of women who didn’t even know they were pregnant had miscarriages… before the 1,700 other women suffered everything from blood clots to paralysis and seizures.

All this reminds me of the birth control pills that killed many women before anyone would even admit that they were dangerous. The makers of Gardasil are still trying to say, “Oh, no, it wasn’t our fault.” But the British Telegraph reported said that, if this shot stays on the list of required vaccinations, children taking Gardasil would be “no better than human guinea pigs.”

It seems to me that, perhaps, we have all been guinea pigs in the study of vaccination. And, perhaps, it was worth taking a chance on when there was a real danger of world-wide epidemics of smallpox or polio, and only a very few children were harmed by being vaccinated. But this is no longer the case.

The immediate, known risk to a child from multiple vaccines is more dangerous than the possible risk of almost any childhood disease. Instead, we have epidemics of autism, food allergies, childhood diabetes, childhood cancer, immune deficiency syndromes, and more, all of which may be directly related to vaccination. Surely, if there is only a chance this is true—and I think there is more than a “chance”—then we should suspend all mandatory vaccination and begin to study unvaccinated populations to see if they have the same problems that the vaccinated do.

It is time that the health of our children was put back in our own hands. The government simply has no right to make such a choice for us. It has no right to ask us to knowingly poison the smallest and most defenseless among us. We have to end mandatory vaccination now, before any more children are harmed or killed.

Michael Belkin’s final comments about Hep B vaccine before the CDC sum it up better than I can:

At the NVIC, we are overwhelmed following up constant new reports of deaths, seizures and autoimmune reactions following hepatitis B vaccination. Because the CDC refuses to acknowledge this large number of serious adverse reactions, hospitals and doctors who have been misled about the risks continue to administer the vaccine and then deny any vaccine connection when children die, get ill or have seizures within hours or days. CDC officials tell parents they have never heard of hepatitis B vaccine reactions.

That is a lie. For this government to continue to insist that hepatitis B vaccine adverse reaction reports do not exist is negligent, unethical—and is a crime against the children of America.

HepB, MMR, DPT, Chickenpox… for all of them, the dangers of vaccination are real. More is not better. Wholesale vaccination needs to be stopped. Now.

References:

• Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow. “Lead and Mercury: Late lessons from early warnings.” September, 2005.
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. “Toxfacs for Mercury“, April 1999.
• Belkin, M. (1999) Testimony before the Committee on Immunization Practices, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (February 17).
• CDC (2006). Traveler’s Guide.
• Cockcroft, L. (2007) “Cervical cancer drug Gardasil linked to deaths.” The Telegraph.
• Ehrengut, W. in Lancet, Feb. 18, 1978, p. 370 Retrieved on 5/25/08
• Horvath, K, and Perman, J.A., (2002) Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
• JAMA Aug. 22, 1980, vol. 244, p. 804.
• Kennedy, R.F., Jr. (2005) “Deadly Immunity“. In Rolling Stone.
• National Network for Immunization Information. (2007) “Parents: Why Immunize? Vaccine Effectiveness.“
• Primary Immunodeficency Resource Center. (2008) Primary Immunodeficiency Booklet.
• Reuters. “Chickenpox Vaccine Loses Effectiveness in Study“. New York Times, March 15, 2007.
• Skeptics magazine. “Japan, SIDS and Pertussis Immunization“.
• Scheibner, Viera, M.D. (1998) “Comments on Japanese SIDS ‘rebutal’“.
• Vaccination Information Service (1998 ) “Confusion” brochure
• “What Parents should know about Thimerosal“.

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US Infant Mortality Trends…

US Infant Mortality Trends Attributable to Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed From 1984 Through 2004: Are Rates Increasing?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 2 February 2009, pp. 533-539

OBJECTIVE. Accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, a subgroup of sudden, unexpected infant deaths, is a leading mechanism of injury-related infant deaths. We explored trends and characteristics of these potentially preventable deaths.

METHODS. In this descriptive study, we analyzed US infant mortality data from 1984 through 2004. To explore trends in accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed and other sudden, unexpected infant deaths, we calculated cause-specific infant mortality rates and estimated proportionate mortality. Sudden, unexpected infant death was defined as a combination of all deaths attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, sudden infant death syndrome, and unknown causes. Finally, we examined factors that were reported as contributing to these accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed deaths.

RESULTS. Between 1984 and 2004, infant mortality rates attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed increased from 2.8 to 12.5 deaths per 100000 live births. These rates remained relatively stagnant between 1984 and 1992 and increased between 1992 and 2004; the most dramatic increase occurred between 1996 and 2004 (14% average annual increase). In contrast, total sudden, unexpected infant death rates remained stagnant between 1996 and 2004, whereas the proportion of deaths attributed to sudden infant death syndrome declined and to unknown cause increased. Black male infants <4 months of age were disproportionately affected by accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. Beds, cribs, and couches were reported as places where deaths attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed occurred.

CONCLUSIONS. Infant mortality rates attributable to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed have quadrupled since 1984. The reason for this increase is unknown. Prevention efforts should target those at highest risk and focus on helping parents and caregivers provide safer sleep environments.

 

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The DTaP vaccine was licensed in 1991 and routine use of DTP vaccine was stopped in the US. The ‘back to sleep campaign’ was initiated in 1992. So the downward trend of SIDS rates was attibuted to the ‘back to sleep campaign. But was it really? Which is the real reason? What might the medical establishment be hiding?

In contrast, total sudden, unexpected infant death rates remained stagnant between 1996 and 2004, whereas the proportion of deaths attributed to sudden infant death syndrome declined and to unknown cause increased.”

That statement sounds like double-speak.  SIDS remained stagnant from 1996-2004, yet unkown causes increased.  Last I knew SIDS is a catch-all for ‘unknown reasons’. 

SIDS is the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. (Willinger et al, 1991).

If they were to put those now ‘unknown cause’ cases back into the original definition of SIDS, that would mean it HAS increased, not decreased.

If you research back before the mid 1930’s, there was rarely a SIDS case. In 1928 doctors were questioning encephalitis occuring after vaccinations. ( the smallpox vaccine, and experiments with measles, scarlet fever toxins, diphtheria, pertussis and antitoxins, and pneumoococcus.)

Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade

Book Is Rallying Resistance to the Antivaccine Crusade

A new book defending vaccines, written by a doctor infuriated at the claim that they cause autism, is galvanizing a backlash against the antivaccine movement in the United States.

But there will be no book tour for the doctor, Paul A. Offit, author of “Autism’s False Prophets.” He has had too many death threats.

“I’ll speak at a conference, say, to nurses,” he said. “But I wouldn’t go into a bookstore and sign books. It can get nasty. There are parents who really believe that vaccines hurt their children, and to them, I’m incredibly evil. They hate me.”

Dr. Offit, a pediatrician, is a mild, funny and somewhat rumpled 57-year-old. The chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he is also the co-inventor of a vaccine against rotavirus, a diarrheal disease that kills 60,000 children a year in poor countries. …

More

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So now he’s  playing the ‘victim’.  Maybe now he can feel what it’s like to walk in others shoes?  Naw, I doubt it…

Tamiflu found to be 99% ineffective against primary flu strain

 

Following up on an initial report last month, The New York Times now says that Tamiflu is 99% of all flu strains 99% ineffective against the dominant flu strain that will strike Americans this season.

Scientists and health officials do not know why. Last winter, roughly 11% of common flu strains patients with the most common flu strain resisted showed resistance to Tamiflu, the leading antiviral drug.

No resistance to Tamiflu has been identified among other circulating viruses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Roche, the manufacturer.

“It’s quite shocking,” Dr. Kent A. Sepkowitz, director of infection control at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, told the Times. “We’ve never lost an antimicrobial this fast. It blew me away.”

So far, it’s not a public-health problem. Officials cite two reasons: the flu season has been below average, and the main strain is susceptible to other antivirals.

January and February are peak months for influenza.

Last month The Wall Street Journal reported that the CDC had alerted doctors about Tamiflu’s apparent ineffectiveness and urged them to prescribe an additional drug.

The Food and Drug Administration has more information about Tamiflu.

WebMD, citing the CDC, reports the first flu-related death of a child this season.

 

Correction: In hastily summarizing the Times article, the effectiveness of Tamiflu was misstated. The headline and text have been corrected. Apologies to all. It’s another reminder of how moving at Internet speed can sometimes kill comprehension…

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Want to avoid those embarrassing internal emails containing concerns that an important product may be harmful, or documents that could attract the attention of an ambitious prosecutor?

The Medical Technology Learning Institute and Compliance-Alliance is offering: “Dangerous Documents: Avoiding Land Mines in Your FDA Records and Emails” — a course tailor-made for the drug industry and medical device company executive anxious to cut down on pesky multimillion-dollar legal settlements.

Dangerous Documents offers such helpful tips as: Instead of writing, “We’ll meet on Thursday to destroy the documents,” it’s better to say, “We’ll meet on Thursday to implement our document retention policy.”

The course is the brain child of Compliance-Alliance founder Nancy Singer, a former U.S. prosecutor who did litigation for the Food and Drug Administration.

Singer is using her expertise to educate company officials on how to write internal and external communications that do not contain potential “landmines,” which she describes as anything that “if it’s uncovered, it explodes.”

“Documents are like diamonds,” she is fond of saying. “They are very precious and they last forever.”

The Compliance-Alliance mission statement says the course will present “the latest thinking on what it takes to achieve and maintain compliance with FDA and CMS requirements.”

However, there appears to be more here than instruction on how to be an upstanding corporate citizen and keep government agencies happy. The course agenda reads more like a primer on how to avoid raising red flags with the regulatory police or the suspicion of prosecutors and product liability lawyers.

Some of the more eye catching topics listed in the program for the $995 course include:

* Who can be held criminally liable under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act

* 18 words that will attract the attention of prosecutors or plaintiffs’ lawyers

* 8 common practices that are sure to get you in trouble

* The dangers in not monitoring employee emails

Singer insists this is not about how to bury negative data or avoid getting caught for nefarious practices.

“I want to educate all employees on the ramifications of how inappropriate statements can be used,” Singer said.

Indeed, in every personal injury trial in which Merck & Co defended its handling of the withdrawn pain drug Vioxx, plaintiffs’ lawyers dredged up internal Merck memos that questioned company interpretations of clinical safety data. Despite winning most of those trials, Merck finally agreed to a $4.85 billion settlement….

Never use words like illegal or negligent when you can instead say, “It could be argued that that doesn’t comply with requirements” or “perhaps we haven’t been as careful as we should be,” Singer said.

Among the pitfalls Singer discusses is what she calls the CYA (Cover Your Ass) memo, in which an employee puts concerns in writing for the files to show he or she raised the issue….

If the employee gets subpoenaed in a product liability case the CYA memo will be used against the company, Singer says, “and it’s not going to protect you from the government.”

Another common misconception, Singer says, is the belief that putting “confidential” or “internal use only” on a memo will keep it out of the hands of investigators or government agencies.

“Writing ‘confidential’ doesn’t mean anything.”

Full article

Bayer Knowingly Sold HIV-Contaminated Vaccines, Say Internal Documents

 

Here’s a little-known truth about Bayer that needs to be revisited. In 2006, it was discovered that Bayer found out a vaccine it was selling in the United States was accidentally contaminated with HIV.

In order to cover its tracks, say the journalists in this video (below), Bayer pulled the vaccines off the market and sold them to consumers in Japan, France, Spain and other countries, where hemophiliacs were then contaminated with HIV due to the vaccine.

Continued

Monovalent vaccines for Measles, Mumps, Rubella

Merck Focusing on Combination Vaccine

Manufacturer Stops Sales of Monovalents for Measles, Mumps, Rubella

By David Mitchell
12/24/2008

Merck & Co. Inc. has stopped production and sales of its monovalent vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella. The manufacturer instead plans to focus on its combination vaccine, MMRII.

Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose said MMRII accounts for 98 percent of the company’s volume for measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, compared to just 2 percent from monovalent vaccines Attenuvax (measles), Mumpsvax (mumps) and Meruvax (rubella).

“The combination vaccine is what’s recommended, and it’s such a significant portion of the orders we see,” said Rose. “It’s in the best interest of public health to make more of that rather than dedicate manufacturing capacity to monovalents.”

Rose said Merck had not decided when, or if, it might make the monovalent vaccines available for sale in the future.

Doug Campos-Outcalt, M.D., M.P.A., who serves as the AAFP’s liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and is a former member of the AAFP Commission on Clinical Policies and Research, said Merck’s decision was insignificant in terms of public health. He added, however, that some parents likely will be unhappy.

“The use of the single antigen is pretty limited,” he said. “There’s no harm if you need one in getting all three. There are some parents out there that want a delayed vaccine schedule. They want the vaccines spread out over a longer period of time and not so many at once. That’s a lot of hooey. Alternative schedules have never been proven to be superior.”

Haunting Medical Journals

Haunting Medical Journals

 

Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has begun an inquiry into the use of ghostwriters by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, to produce medical journals favorable to its hormone replacement therapy drug Prempro. The Senator has asked Wyeth and Design Write, the medical ghostwriting company, to disclose the payments and activities related to the production of the articles and doctors whose names wound up on the publications.

The Senator wrote to the CEO of Wyeth, Bernard J. Poussot, saying that “[a]ny attempt to manipulate the scientific literature, that can in turn mislead doctors to prescribe drugs that may not work and/or cause harm to their patients, is very troubling.”

In a response to Sen. Grassley’s letter, Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus, said that the Senator was recycling old arguments, and that the authors of the articles had substantial editorial control over the content. Although documents show that Wyeth executives brain-stormed ideas, drafted outlines for the articles, titled them, paid ghostwriters and academic authors, and targeted publications to carry the stories.

The investigations from a number of lawsuits have produced pages upon pages of internal corporate documents that have demonstrated the central role played by Wyeth and Design Write in creating a media blitz that promoted hormone therapy for menopausal women.

One such article was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that there was no definitive evidence that progestin (a key ingredient in Prempro) caused breast cancer, and that hormone users were more likely to survive cancer. This article was written over one year after the Women’s Health Initiative linked Prempro to breast cancer.

In 2001, hormone therapy peaked in the United States, and more than 126 million prescriptions were written for American women. Wyeth posted $3 billion in sales that year, but after the Women’s Health Initiative made its findings, sales fell dramatically. Some of the drugs are still available, but they are required to have the cancer warning on the bottle and are prescribed in the lowest doses.

Wyeth has had ghostwriting issues with other drugs, including the diet medications Pondimin and Redux. Merk has also been involved in ghostwriting for the painkilling drug Vioxx, which was linked to heart problems in 2004, and led to countless lawsuits. These companies have developed deliberate media strategies to push their drugs on doctors and patients, regardless of the negative information on their effects published by legitimate studies. Ghostwriting will likely continue to lead to potential health risks to patients, and legal action against doctors and pharmaceutical companies. Hopefully, Senator Grassley’s investigation will lead to strict regulations and penalties for ghostwriting misleading medical articles.

Medical ‘Conscience Rule’ Is Issued

Medical ‘Conscience Rule’ Is Issued

The Bush administration, as expected, announced new protections on Thursday for health care providers who oppose abortion and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds.

“Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience,” Michael O. Leavitt, the secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement on his department’s Web site.

The rule prohibits recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and health care aides who refuse to take part in procedures because of their convictions, and it bars hospitals, clinics, doctors’ office and pharmacies from forcing their employees to assist in programs and activities financed by the department.

“This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience,” Mr. Leavitt said.

The Bush administration had signaled its intention to issue the measures, which are part of a flurry of regulations it is announcing before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. The new president will be able to undo the regulations, and is virtually certain to, given his previous comments on the issue. But undoing them will be a time-consuming process.

The measures announced on Thursday, sometimes described collectively as the “conscience rule,” were issued just in time to take effect before the start of the new administration. They will go into effect 30 days after their publication in the Federal Register on Friday. Recipients of funds from the Department of Health and Human Services are required to certify their compliance with the rule by October 2009.

“If, despite the department’s efforts, compliance is not achieved, H.H.S. officials will consider all legal options, including termination of funding and the return of funds paid out in violation of the non-discrimination provisions,” Mr. Leavitt said.

Opponents of abortion, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals, support the new regulations and say they are needed to protect health-care providers from being forced to perform abortions and sterilizations.

They are opposed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association, among others. Opponents contend that the regulations are a threat to a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, and that they are not needed in any event because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already prohibits employment discrimination based on religion.

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Then parents need to have the same rights to have a conscience law in every state that allows them to refuse vaccines as it is a medical procedure :)

The Lies Parents are Told…

Over the years I have lost count on the number of times I have heard parents being told untruths or given misinformation about vaccine exemptions, the number of vaccine doses their child needs for school or daycare attendance, which vaccines are mandated by their state, that a daycare center won’t allow their unvaccinated child to attend, or that their child will be kicked out of daycare or school for vaccine delinquency. Some parents have also been told by their doctors or health departments they need every vaccine and every dose on the CDC schedule to attend daycare or school. Others have been told they can’t get individual vaccines because they don’t exist, such as MMR.

 

 

Let’s set the record straight:

 

1. Every state has exemptions whether it is medical, religious, or philosophical (personal). Some states only allow medical, some allow medical and religious, while others allow all three.

 

2.  Individual vaccines are produced and can be given. A doctor or health department may simply choose not to give them, stock them, or order them for you.

 

 

3.  States are not uniform in the vaccines they mandate for daycare attendance and school entry and the number of doses a child is required to have. For instance, some states may require five doses of DTaP for school attendance, while some states may require only four doses. Doctors and health departments, however, will simply follow the CDC recommended schedule even if it is not mandated for school or daycare entry.

 

4. Children can not be kicked out of school immediately for not having had all the vaccines required by their individual state mandate. There are grace periods which allows time for either an exemption to be submitted, or for vaccines to be given and caught up.

 

5. Daycare centers have state regulations and written within those regulations are state immunization laws which tell you what vaccines and the number of doses that are required for attendance, and solely pertain to children under the age of five. Daycare vaccine exemptions follow the same state exemption laws outlined for school-aged children. A daycare center can not simply tell you they don’t accept a child without first reviewing your submitted exemption or delay/selective schedule.

 

A good source for information and the most up-to-date vaccine exemption issues and laws is Vaccine Liberation. I highly advise however, that you contact someone in your state for additional information and for one-on-one guidance if you are exempting vaccines in some states such as N.J. or N.Y. for instance. Nearly every state has a coalition or group that can help you further.

 

In future blogs, Exploring Vaccines will list all the individual state vaccine mandates for daycare and school attendance as a ‘quick easy-viewing reference’, what exemptions are available, state coalitions, etc.

 

 

Some New York Times Reporters are Just Ignorant

By J.B. Handley

There’s a reporter named Gardiner Harris who writes for the New York Times. I’ve probably talked to a hundred or so reporters in my time and he is unquestionably the biggest jackass I have ever encountered. Aside from being snide, cynical, wildly biased, dismissive, and arrogant, there’s also this ditty, in a private email to me that explains it all:

“but scaring parents away from life-saving medicines is no way to improve this terrible situation. i have met parents who lost their children to vaccine-preventable diseases, and they are haunted. if you had your way, there would be far more of these haunted souls. i hope to prevent that from happening.” – Gardiner Harris

So, he’s also a vaccine zealot.

Continued…

State Tobacco Cash Funneled Into Vaccines

State Tobacco Cash Funneled Into Vaccines, Biotech Drug Delivery, Cardiac Arrest, and Mental Health Research

Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund just made a bunch of biomedical researchers either very happy, or highly disappointed. The 10-year, $350 million initiative, which takes money from the state tobacco settlement, chose to pump almost $19 million into four grant proposals that explore development of new vaccines, improved ways to treat cardiac arrest, rural mental health, and how to better deliver biotech drugs into cells.

This was a big round of grants for the fund. Before today, the quasi-state agency had divvied out 17 grants to researchers worth a combined $32 million. I got an update on the strategy of the program, and it’s progress thus far, in September during an interview with executive director Lee Huntsman. A total of 29 grant applications were sent in, and 10 of them were closely scrutinized through interviews by reviewers with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the board’s trustees. “All of them were of high scientific and technical merit,” said Lura Powell, chair of the board of trustees.

The aim of these grants, Powell said on today’s conference call, is to advance health care for Washington residents, strengthen the local economy, and promote the region’s competitiveness as a global biotech hub.

With that in mind, here’s a rundown of the newest grant recipients announced today. All of them won by a unanimous votes.

Continued…

Research halted at Seattle hospital

Research halted at Seattle hospital

Officials have halted enrollment in more than 600 human research studies taking place in Seattle this week after a federal audit found shoddy paperwork in some consent forms.

The Department of Veterans Affair’s Office of Research Oversight determined in a November audit that the VA Puget Sound Health Care System should be more careful in documenting that human subjects are competent enough to make reasoned informed consent. Local oversight committees were also censured for not formally judging risk levels on a study by study basis.

“This is a procedural issue,” Norm Arkan, a University of Washington spokesperson, told The Scientist. “There were no issues here of any subject being in jeopardy with regard to safety issues.”

“There were administrative oversight issues, and we’ve begun the process of making changes,” added Jeri Rowe, the VA Puget Sound Health Systems’ director of public affairs.

Researchers can continue collecting data from patients already enrolled in ongoing studies but cannot add new subjects or publish any results until the hospital cleans up its documentation methods, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

The decision applies to about 600 studies being conducted at the hospital and at the University of Washington, and 15 studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that were actively recruiting bone-marrow transplant and oncology patients at the hospital.

Arkan expects that the studies will now be delayed by “several weeks.” In the meantime, researchers may have to turn to data analysis and other minor research-related tasks until the wrinkles are ironed out. “The biggest impediment,” he said, will be that “our researchers have a lot of paperwork to fill out,” but the research will resume eventually.

Lancet: Dozens of nations inflated vaccine numbers

LONDON – Dozens of developing countries exaggerated figures on how many children were vaccinated against deadly diseases, which allowed them to get more money from U.N.-sponsored programs, a new study said Friday.

Research in the medical journal, The Lancet, said only half as many children were vaccinated than was claimed by countries taking part in special programs meant to reach kids in poor nations. The findings raise serious issues about vaccination programs — and whether money earmarked for children is actually reaching their intended recipients.

“With the unprecedented billions given by the international community, there is no excuse for these poor coverage rates,” said Philip Stevens, of the International Policy Network, a London-based think-tank. “One has to wonder where the money has gone — hopefully not into Swiss bank accounts.”

American researchers analyzed records of children supposedly vaccinated by initiatives led by the United Nations and related groups like the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, or GAVI.

The scientists examined reports the countries gave to the United Nations on how many children were immunized. They then compared those figures to independent surveys on vaccination conducted by non-governmental groups and other outside researchers.

The report did not focus on the tens of millions of children immunized globally each year. Instead, the researchers studied programs meant to increase the availability of vaccinations in poorer countries — vaccinations designed to reach kids who would not be covered otherwise.

From 1986 to 2006, the United Nations reported that 14 million children received immunizations in the programs. But the reports from the independent surveys put that number at just over 7 million.

“The magnitude of the gap is surprising,” said Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics at the University of Washington and the study’s lead author.

Murray and colleagues found that at least 32 of the 51 countries taking part in the U.N.-backed programs over-reported by at least 50 percent how many children were protected against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

Experts suggest that inflating the numbers is part of a larger problem in attracting limited resources.

“That’s how you get money,” said Ken Hill, a public health professor at Harvard University who was not linked to the study. “You exaggerate the number of people who die or who you save to get visibility. Somehow, numbers always end up bigger than they would be otherwise.”

The global alliance pays developing countries $20 per extra vaccinated child — a payment that relies exclusively on reports from the countries.

Murray and colleagues estimated that the alliance should have paid countries $150 million. Instead, it paid them $290 million.

The report said the worst countries for over-reporting were Armenia, Somalia, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, none of which immunized any additional children at all.

Countries that reported vaccination numbers more than four times higher than surveys showed included Tajikistan, Pakistan, Togo, Lesotho, Liberia and Zambia.

Those overestimating immunizations by more than two times were Niger, Ivory Coast, Congo, Central African Republic, Guinea, Indonesia, Gambia, North Korea, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nations that claimed at least 50 percent more vaccinations than were actually done included Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Cameroon and Nepal.

Experts said the study raised questions about the credibility of other health data from the United Nations and countries.

Julian Lob-Levyt, the chief executive officer of the global vaccines alliance, said it would hold off on all payments until affected countries can clarify what is happening in their programs.

He also stressed that there was no evidence of corruption in any of the countries that had received money from the alliance.

Some experts worry that the Lancet study, which was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, overstated the problem and that immunization programs would be unfairly overhauled.

The United Nations has been criticized for its fluctuating figures in the past. In 2007, it dramatically slashed its HIV figures, citing new surveillance methods.

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Have they stopped to think that many parents do NOT want those vaccines. They are hiding their children to keep them from being vaccinated, they are bullied, coerced and other. And dare we mention their clinical trials where these children are used as guinea pigs. Yes, the corruption goes on, inflating numbers has always gone on. This isn’t new news.

Also see:

Massachusetts Gift-Ban Bill Causes Another Ruckus

 St. Petersburg Times – “Drug makers spend hundreds of millions of dollars bringing a promising compound to the stage where it can be tested on humans — only to be stymied when subjects in developed countries are slow to sign up. So the companies have moved offshore in search of subjects, and now nearly half of all studies are conducted outside the United States. Brazil, Russia and China have been popular trial locales, but India is moving up fast, aggressively courting the drug study business.”

Doctors rethink costly vaccines

Doctors rethink costly vaccines

About one in 10 doctors who vaccinate privately insured children are considering dropping that service largely because they are losing money when they do it, according to a new survey.

A second survey revealed startling differences between what doctors pay for vaccines and what private health insurers reimburse: For example, one in 10 doctors lost money on one recommended infant vaccine, but others made almost $40 per dose on the same shot.

…The studies did not look at the 50 percent or more of vaccinations paid for by government, which generally provides free vaccines to doctors and covers administrative fees.

Full Article

Let me get this straight…the government pays for 50% + of the vaccines and administration costs given to doctors for free. Yet one vaccine they buy, and loose a few bucks on, is a problem? Am I missing something?Seriously, are you kidding me?!?!

This ‘money thing ‘ is exactly why parents are having problems finding Ped’s when they choose to delay/select or refuse all vaccines. It has never been about the best interests of your child. It’s always been about the money! So what do they want? A bailout too?

 

Sanofi Pasteur Wants Liability Protection for Vaccinating Pregnant Women

Sanofi Pasteur Wants Liability Protection for Vaccinating Pregnant Women

By Kelli Ann Davis

Today, during the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2nd National Stakeholder Meeting on the Review of Priorities in the National Vaccine Plan, Stanley Plotkin, Executive Advisor to the CEO of Sanofi Pasteur and Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania made a startling revelation: Sanofi Pasteur is lobbying members of the Senate for liability protection.

According to Plotkin, Sanofi Pasteur is concerned about the “legal issue of vaccinating while pregnant” and feels it is “important to keep non-negligence issues” out of the tort system; he stated, “it needs to be addressed” and then went on to say, “I don’t know how it should be done but it needs to be addressed considering what’s happening recently.”

Continued…

Exemptions

To be continued…discussion, articles, references and more!

Gardasil trials update–“New Medical Conditions”

Gardasil trials update–“New Medical Conditions”

Toy Warning

Some Products on Shelves this Holiday Season Will be Illegal to Sell in February

One in Three Children’s Toys Tested by http://www.healthytoys.org/ Found to have Significant Levels of Toxic Chemicals Including Lead, Flame Retardants, and Arsenic.

Lead was detected in 20% of the toys tested this year.  In fact, lead levels in some of the products were well above the 600 parts-per-million (ppm) federal recall standard used for lead paint, and will exceed the U.S. legal limit in February, according to the new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulations.  Levels of lead in many toys were significantly above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm of lead in children’s products.  Children’s jewelry remains the most contaminated product category, maintaining its spot at the top of HealthyToys.org’s “worst” list.

The CPSC regulations, which go into effect in February 2009, would make certain products on the shelf this holiday season illegal to sell two months from now.  Experts insist that these new regulations, while a good first step, do not go nearly far enough to protect our children.

“There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in children’s toys,” said Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart, who led the research. “Our hope is that by empowering consumers with this information, manufacturers and lawmakers will feel the pressure to start phasing out the most harmful substances immediately, and to change the nation’s laws to protect children from highly toxic chemicals.”

In addition to allowing parents to search by product name, brand, or toy type to see if certain toys have toxic chemicals, the newly-redesigned site also allows visitors to create a personalized holiday wish list that can be sent to family and friends, and a blog-friendly widget to quickly search the toy ratings.

Researchers tested for chemicals that have been associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer; and for those that have been identified by regulatory agencies as problematic.  Babies and young children are the most vulnerable populations because their brains and bodies are still developing, and because they frequently put toys into their mouths.  The testing was conducted with a screening technology – the portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer – that identifies the elemental composition of materials on or near the surface of products.

Highlights from the HealthyToys.org 2008 findings:

• Lead is Still in Toys – HealthyToys.org found lead in 20% of all the products tested this year, including 54 products (3.5%) that exceed the current 600 ppm recall threshold for lead-based paint, and the soon-to-be national standard for all children’s products.  When children are exposed to lead, the developmental and nervous system consequences can be irreversible.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended a level of 40 parts per million (ppm) of lead as the maximum that should be allowed in children’s products.
• It’s Not Just China – HealthyToys.org has not found a consistent correlation between the country of manufacture and the presence of toxic chemicals in toys.  21% of toys from China and 16% of those from all other countries had detectable levels of lead in 2008.  17 toys manufactured in the U.S. were sampled and 35% of those had detectable levels of lead.  Two toys had levels above 600 ppm.  Among the highest lead levels detected in HealthyToys.org (190,943 ppm) was in a Halloween Pumpkin Pin made in the USA.
• It’s Not Just Lead – HealthyToys.org found a significant number of toys containing cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and bromine.  2.9% (45 products) had bromine at concentrations of 1,000 ppm or higher.  This indicates the likely use of brominated flame retardants — chemicals that may pose hazards to children’s health.  Other toxic chemicals found in toys include arsenic, cadmium, and mercury.  Arsenic was detected at levels greater than 100 ppm in 22 or 1.4% of products; 289 (18.9%) of products contained detectable levels of arsenic.  Cadmium was found above 100ppm in 30 (1.9%) of products; 38 (2.4%) of products contained detectable levels of cadmium.  Mercury was found above 100 ppm in 14 (1%) of products; 62 (4.2%) of products contained detectable levels of mercury. 
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC / Vinyl) – HealthyToys.org identified products made with PVC plastic by measuring their chlorine content.  PVC is a problematic plastic because it creates major environmental health hazards in its manufacture and disposal and may contain additives, including phthalates, that may pose hazards.  27% of toys (excluding jewelry) tested this year by HealthyToys.org were made with PVC.
• Jewelry – Jewelry remains the most contaminated product category tested.  Children’s jewelry is five-times more likely to contain lead above 600 ppm than other products.  15% of jewelry samples (compared to 3% of other products) had lead levels above 600 ppm.  Overall, jewelry is twice as likely to contain detectable levels of lead as other products.  Numerous Hannah Montana brand jewelry items tested high for lead.  HealthyToys.org recommends that consumers avoid low cost children’s jewelry.
• The Good News – The good news is that 62% (954) of the products tested contain LOW levels of chemicals of concern, and 21% (324) of all products contain NO chemicals of concern.  These products look and feel no different than other children’s products on the shelf.  These findings show that manufacturers can and should make toys free of unnecessary toxic chemicals.

CDC: Better Tracking of Hib Needed

CDC: Better Tracking of Hib Needed

Federal health officials are urging doctors and state agencies to be more careful in suspected cases of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB) in children younger than 5, largely due to a continuing vaccine shortage that is expected to continue until the middle of 2009.

The vaccine protects against Hib disease (Haemophilus influenza type b) a bacterium estimated to be responsible for some three million serious illnesses and an estimated 386,000 deaths every year, mainly through meningitis and pneumonia.

There are varying forms of serotypes of H. influenzae, says Michael Jackson, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The current vaccine helps to prevent type B, at one time the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in children.

But the reporting of serotypes to the CDC has been inconsistent with an estimated 40 percent of cases lacking such information, Dr. Jackson said.

“Without the serotype,” says Dr. Jackson, “we are unable to know if it’s type B, which is the type we are most concerned about, or another type that is less worrisome.”

The vaccine shortage began in December 2007 when Merck recalled 1.2 million doses of the vaccine. The voluntary recall began after the Merck found a bacterial contamination, Bacillus cereus on vaccine manufacturing equipment at its Pennsylvania plant.

The company has recently modified its manufacturing process, delaying vaccine availability until the middle of next year, said a spokeswoman for Merck.

While there is enough Hib vaccine to supply infants with a first series of shots, the shortage means children are going longer without the booster shots usually given after their first birthday, said CDC officials.

Agency officials encourage state and hospital laboratories, health departments and doctors to do serotyping of blood or spinal fluid specimens in a timely manner and report findings to the CDC.

The full report is published in the CDC’s weekly MMWR report on November 21, 2008.

Trace Melamine Found In Popular U.S. Baby Formulas

…Previously undisclosed tests, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the FDA has detected melamine in a sample of one popular formula and the presence of cyanuric acid, a chemical relative of melamine, in the formula of a second manufacturer.

Separately, a third major formula maker told AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula.

The three firms – Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson – manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States.

The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally.

The U.S. government quietly began testing domestically produced infant formula in September, soon after problems with melamine-spiked formula surfaced in China.

…FDA scientists said then that they couldn’t set an acceptable level of melamine exposure in infant formula because science hadn’t had enough time to understand the chemical’s effects on infants’ underdeveloped kidneys. Plus, there is the complicating factor that infant formula often constitutes a newborn’s entire diet.

…The Grocery Manufacturers Association, for example, told its members: “FDA could not identify a safe level for melamine and related compounds in infant formula; thus it can be concluded they will not accept any detectable melamine in infant formula.”

It was not until the AP inquired about tests on domestic formula that the FDA articulated that while it couldn’t set a safe exposure for infants, it would accept some melamine in formula – raising the question of whether the decision to accept very low concentrations was made only after traces were detected.

…According to FDA data for tests of 77 infant formula samples, a trace concentration of melamine was detected in one product – Mead Johnson’s Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. An FDA spreadsheet shows two tests were conducted on the Enfamil, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.

Three tests of Nestle’s Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron detected an average of 0.247 parts per million of cyanuric acid, a melamine byproduct.

The FDA said last month that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is under study, but that meanwhile it is “prudent” to assume that its potency is equal to that of melamine.

And while the FDA said tests of 18 samples of formula made by Abbott Laboratories, including its Similac brand, did not detect melamine, spokesman Colin McBean said some company tests did find the chemical. He did not identify the specific product or the number of positive tests.

…Mead Johnson spokeswoman Gail Wood said her company’s in-house tests had not detected any melamine, and that the company had not been informed of the FDA test results, even during a confidential agency conference call Monday with infant formula makers about melamine contamination.

The FDA tests also detected melamine in two samples of nutritional supplements for very sick children who have trouble digesting regular food. Nestle’s Peptamen Junior medical food showed 0.201 and 0.206 parts per million of melamine while Nestle’s Nutren Junior-Fiber showed 0.16 and 0.184 parts per million.

The agency said that while there are no established exposure levels for infant formula, pediatric medical food – often used in feeding tubes for very sick, young children – can have 2.5 parts per million of melamine, just like food products other than infant formula.

The head of manufacturing for Nestle Nutrition in North America, Walter Huber, said in an interview that the company took samples alongside FDA officials who visited a manufacturing plant, and that those samples showed similar results to what FDA found for the two pediatric medical foods. Huber added that Nestle didn’t fund cyanuric acid in any of the samples.

Immunizations and Alzheimers

The Immunization-Alzheimer´s Controversy

The adjuvants used in vaccines (putting the mercury issue aside) are intentionally highly inflammatory so as to provoke a more active immune response to the weakened pathogen. The fact that American children are the most vaccinated in the world at such an early age, when their brains are setting up shop, runs the high risk that vaccinations will “train” nerves to become more hyper-active to future inflammatory stress of any kind. Such issues would be magnified if a child had a history of stress in the womb, stress as an infant (unstable environment), poor nutrition in the womb or early life, other health problems as an infant, or has family-related gene weaknesses predisposing to Alzheimer´s (or any other nerve-related disease for that matter). These massive numbers of early vaccinations could easily set the stage for early onset Alzheimer´s. At this point there is absolutely no science that refutes this theory, and plenty of science to predict it.

More…

Th1 and Th2 Response

Vaccines – The Great Debate

In addition to their toxic composition, the second problem with vaccinations is that they stimulate the wrong immune system. In my opinion, this is the greatest threat to our immune system that we have ever faced. You see, when a virus, parasites, or cancer cells threaten your body, they will activate an immune response called a Th1 (cell-mediated) response. This is your body’s first line of defense, which will then stimulate a Th2 response (humoral). The Th2 is an emergency response which produces antibodies that resolve inflammation so that healing can continue. The problem is that childhood vaccinations or flu shots stimulate the Th2 resonse, not the Th1, thus violating the natural sequence. This violation has serious consequences. First, when you stimulate a Th1 response, you produce a lifetime immunity; however, when you vaccinate, you need boosters every 3 to 5 years because the Th2 is stimulated first. In other words, you do not have a lifetime immunity.

Another danger in violating the Th2 response sequence is that it teaches your immune system to over-react with the wrong defenses, thus producing a high antibody count which then leads to temporary immunity. When the over reaction (the emergency responses) is repeated again and again, the immune system is now educated to respond in this way. This only confuses the body and drives the diseases internally deeper, thereby causing chronic diseases later in life. Top scientists have said that we are exchanging childhood diseases, which actually strengthen our immune system, for diseases like cancer and autoimmune problems.

Today, 206,000 Americans under the age of 20 have type 1 diabetes, a well-known autoimmune disorder. The CDC reports that 1 out of 400 children and adolescents are now diabetic. In 1945 and 1969, only 1 out of 7,100 faced this disease. J. Barthelow Classen, M.D., a former researcher at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and founder and CEO of Classen Immunotherapies, reported in the May 1996 New Zealand Medical Journal that juvenile diabetes increased 60% following a massive hepatitus B vaccination campaign (1988-1991) for New Zealand babies 6 weeks and older. Along with that, 1 out of 3 Americans has arthritis, and juvenile arthritis is likewise on the rise. Tragically, childhood cancer is also increasing, especially in highly vaccinated communities. We cannot even begin to follow the rise in asthma and allergies because of the great inconsistencies.

continued…

Gulf War Syndrome

If You Let the Idiots Talk They’ll Tell You What You Want to Know

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I’m still trying to get my mind around the 452 page government report recently released on Gulf War illness and its implications for the vaccine/autism controversy.

For those keeping score, two years ago the National Academy of Sciences released a report asserting there was no such thing as Gulf War illness.  (“VA-Funded Report Unable to Find Evidence of a Complex of Symptoms”, www.msnbc.com, September 13, 2006).

The congressionally mandated report entitled “Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans” is devastating in its findings.  As reported in the November 17, 2008 of USA Today (“Gulf War Syndrome is a Real Illness, Study Finds”), “The illness resulted from exposure to chemicals and anti-nerve-gas vaccinations received, and no effective treatment has been found.  It affects 25% of the 695,000 U.S. Gulf War vets (author’s note – approximately 173,000 service members) and perhaps 55,000 British veterans.”

Continued…

Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses. Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Scientific Findings and Recommendations (pdf)

Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans

FDA nixes state appeal to ban multi-dose vials

FDA nixes state appeal to ban multi-dose vials

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected an appeal from New York State’s health commissioner to ban the manufacture of multi-dose vials, saying they are an important option for hospitals.

In January, state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines and New York City’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, sent FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach a letter calling for the FDA to eliminate the manufacture and distribution of multi-dose vials.

Although there are federal and state guidelines against the practice, reusing syringes in multi-dose vials was the source of at least one hepatitis C transmission by Plainview pain management physician Dr. Harvey Finkelstein. The health department was criticized last November when it was revealed that because of legal delays and complicated lab tests, it had waited three years before telling the public of Finkelstein’s improper practice.

In a letter dated Jan. 18, both Daines and Frieden said that despite “numerous guidelines and recommendations,” some doctors continue to misuse needles and syringes, leading to contamination of multi-dose vials. Daines said he believed it was better to “engineer out” human error by getting rid of multi-dose vials.

Continued…

Gulf War Research Panel Finds 1 In 4 Veterans Suffers From Illness Caused By Toxic Exposure

Gulf War Research Panel Finds 1 In 4 Veterans Suffers From Illness Caused By Toxic Exposure

At least one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness, a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas, and no effective treatments have yet been found, a federal panel of scientific experts and veterans concludes in a landmark report released Monday.

Continued…

Age of Autism View

Feckless IOM Does Agency’s Bidding: Sound Familiar?

Gardasil Mandated For New U.S. Citizens

Gardasil Mandated For New U.S. Citizens

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. That’s exactly what the giant drug company Merck has done; it changed its lobbying target and now has the federal government mandating injections of its vaccine for legal immigrants, ensuring a continuous return on its product development investment.

Continued

Bayer Aspirin With Supplements Is Illegal, U.S. Warns

Bayer Aspirin With Supplements Is Illegal, U.S. Warns
By Justin Blum

Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — Pills made by Bayer AG that combine aspirin with dietary supplements to fight osteoporosis and high cholesterol are being sold illegally and could harm consumers, U.S. regulators said.

The non-prescription products are Bayer Women’s Low Dose Aspirin + Calcium and Bayer Aspirin with Heart Advantage, which contains plant-based substances called phytosterols, the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement today. The agency has also sent warning letters to the company.

Dietary supplements generally don’t need FDA approval. The agency is responsible, though, for approving new drugs and has in the past warned companies they need clearance to sell products that combine the two. The regulators focused on the Heart Advantage product after it was introduced this year.

“The marketing of these unapproved drugs is troubling,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a statement. “The overuse or misuse of these aspirin-containing products can put consumers at risk for internal bleeding and other adverse events.”

The FDA isn’t aware of harmful side effects from the products, the agency said in its statement.

Bayer, of Leverkusen, Germany, gained 63 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 38.52 euros at 1:52 p.m. New York time today in Frankfurt trading. The shares have lost 38 percent of their value this year, compared with a 13 percent decline in the Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index.

Bayer’s Response

Bayer “stands behind the marketing of both products,” said Anne Coiley, a Bayer spokeswoman, in a telephone interview. The products contain language telling consumers to consult with their doctors, she said. The company will review the warning letters and respond to the FDA, she said.

The FDA said the products’ combination of aspirin and the supplements — along with their beneficial health claims — cause them to be classified as new drugs, requiring agency approval.

The FDA began examining Heart Advantage after it was introduced earlier this year, said Michael Levy, acting assistant director of compliance in the FDA’s drug division. The agency was especially concerned about that product because “it is a combination that we have not seen before,” Levy said in a telephone interview.

Other Product Review

The FDA also decided to examine the women’s aspirin, introduced in 2002, “in the interest of consistency,” he said.

The calcium in the women’s aspirin is intended to help against osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, while the phytosterols are intended to lower the bad form of cholesterol.

Aspirin can be combined with calcium for use in buffered aspirin, according to the agency. When combined to make an aspirin product that claims to fight osteoporosis, the product becomes a new drug that needs FDA approval, according to the agency.

Companies that don’t resolve FDA violations raised in warning letters risk sanctions such as injunctions or seizures, according to the FDA.

Two House Democrats — Representatives John Dingell and Bart Stupak of Michigan — wrote to the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the FDA, on Oct. 14 questioning whether the Heart Advantage product violates agency rules. They cited a May 2000 letter from the FDA saying that the agency recommends that companies refrain from marketing products that combine drugs and dietary supplements.

FDA’s conclusion that chemical is safe is flawed

WASHINGTON – An independent panel of science advisers is taking issue with the FDA’s assessment that a controversial chemical is safe.

In a report to the agency, the panel concluded: “The margins of safety identified by FDA as ‘adequate’ are, in fact, inadequate.”

The chemical, known as bisphenolA, is used to make plastic baby bottles and sealants for cans that contain food. Environmental groups are seeking to have it banned in products for young children.

The advisers found that the FDA had not considered all the scientific evidence available in concluding that BPA is safe.

oct/2008

AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS CORP. et al. v. FERRARI et al

Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided: October 6, 2008

AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS CORP. et al. v. FERRARI et al

 

Summary

AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS CORP. ET AL. V. FERRARI ET AL. (S07G1708)

 

 

Attorneys for Appellants (Manufacturers): Lowell Fine, Leslie Suson, Robert Hays, Matthew Harman

Attorney for Appellees (Ferraris): Lanny Bridgers

 

The state Supreme Court has upheld a decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals and ruled in favor of a Fulton County couple who sued several vaccine manufacturers for damage done to their toddler by childhood vaccinations. In today‟s landmark decision, written by Justice George Carley , the high court has unanimously affirmed the Court of Appeals judgment, which was the first appeals court in the nation to decide that the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act does not preempt state law permitting such lawsuits. At issue is the language of the federal law, which states that vaccine manufacturers cannot be held liable for vaccine-related injuries or deaths “if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.” The case was brought by Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari, after they took their son Stefan, born in 1998, to get his early childhood vaccinations. Prior to being vaccinated, his parents claim, Stefan was a healthy verbal toddler. Subsequently, he stopped speaking and has not spoken since. The Ferraris sued several vaccine manufacturers, including American Home Products Corp., alleging that their son suffered neurological damage caused by vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. The trial court ruled in favor of the vaccine manufacturers, ruling that the Ferraris‟ design defect claims were preempted by the national Vaccine Act. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed the decision and ruled in the Ferraris‟ favor, calling the federal law unclear and capable of being read two different ways. 2 In reaching today‟s decision, the Supreme Court has carefully reviewed the law and congressional intent in determining that the Vaccine Act “clearly does not preempt all design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers.” Rather the law only protects the manufacturers from liability if it is determined, on a case by case basis, that the vaccine‟s side effects were unavoidable. In this case, the Ferraris argued that their son‟s injuries could have been avoided if the manufacturers had not used thimerosol in their vaccines. Even if the language of the federal law is ambiguous, today‟s 19-page opinion says, “the legislative history hardly shows a „clear and manifest‟ congressional purpose to supplant state tort law with respect to claims of defective design.”

Attorneys for Appellants (Manufacturers): Lowell Fine, Leslie Suson, Robert Hays, Matthew Harman

Attorney for Appellees (Ferraris): Lanny Bridgers

 

 

 

 

 

Mandating Homeschooled Children get vaccines..

The New Way Parents Avoid Vaccination (whole article in link)

Parents choose to home-school their children for economic reasons or to provide what they feel is a better education — but a growing number of moms and dads are choosing to teach their kids at home to avoid forced immunizations.

While some states allow kids to obtain medical or religious exemptions from the immunizations, most states don’t require home-schooled children to be vaccinated at all.

But with recent outbreaks of measles being tied to unvaccinated, home-schooled children, health officials want to change the rules.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, exemptions from immunizations should be harder to get and home-schooled children should be required to get them as well….

*****************

I am not at all surprised by this and expected it to come about as more parents are choosing to homeschool their kids. More and more parents are choosing to homeschool, not because of the vaccine issue, but because they are fed up with the public schools educational system, crumbling schools, and what have you. For the CDC to stick their nose in-what gives them the right when vaccines for many parents is still at the bottom of the list in terms of their decision. This is simply another attempt to further ‘control the herd’.

Dentists Back Sealants, Despite Concerns

Cavities or chemicals? That’s the dilemma for parents worried about a controversial substance found in the popular sealants that are painted on children’s molars to prevent decay.

The chemical is bisphenol-A, or BPA, which is widely used in the making of the hard, clear plastic called polycarbonate, and is also found in the linings of food and soft-drink cans. Most human exposure to the chemical clearly comes from the food supply. But traces have also been found in dental sealants.

Although the Food and Drug Administration has reassured consumers that the chemical appears to be safe, it has received increasing scrutiny in recent months from health officials in the United States and Canada.

More

Hospitals Push Tdap Vaccine On New Mothers

(NaturalNews) An article posted at HattiesburgAmerican.com reports that Forrest General, a hospital in south Mississippi, is trying to push new mothers into having the Tdap vaccine (which immunizes for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) before they leave the hospital.

More

CDC Study Finds 3 Million U.S. Children have Food or Digestive Allergies

CDC Study Finds 3 Million U.S. Children have Food or Digestive Allergies

The number of young people who had a food or digestive allergy increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2007, approximately 3 million U.S. children and teenagers under age 18 – or nearly 4 percent of that age group – were reported to have a food or digestive allergy in the previous 12 months, compared to just over 2.3 million (3.3 percent) in 1997.

The findings are published in a new data brief, “Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations.” The data are from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Hospital Discharge Survey, both conducted by CDC′s National Center for Health Statistics.

The report found that eight types of food account for 90 percent of all food allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat. Reactions to these foods by an allergic person can range from a tingling sensation around the mouth and lips, to hives and even death, depending on the severity of the reaction.

Children with food allergy are two to four times more likely to have other related conditions such as asthma and other allergies, compared to children without food allergies, the report said.

Other highlights:

• Boys and girls had similar rates of food allergy – 3.8 percent for boys and 4.1 percent for girls.
• Approximately 4.7 percent of children younger than 5 years had a reported food allergy compared to 3.7 percent of children and teens aged 5 to 17 years.
• Hispanic children had lower rates of reported food allergy (3.1 percent) than non-Hispanic white (4.1 percent) or non-Hispanic black children (4 percent.)
• In 2007, 29 percent of children with food allergy also had reported asthma compared to 12 percent of children without food allergy.
• Approximately 27 percent of children with food allergy had reported eczema or skin allergy, compared to 8 percent of children without food allergy.
• Over 30 percent of children with food allergy also had reported respiratory allergy, compared with 9 percent of children with no food allergy.
• From 2004 to 2006, there were approximately 9,537 hospital discharges per year with a diagnosis related to food allergy among children from birth to 17 years. Hospital discharges with a diagnosis related to food allergy increased significantly over time between 1998-2000 through 2004-2006.

The mechanisms by which a person develops an allergy to specific foods are largely unknown. Food allergy is more prevalent in children than adults. Most affected children will outgrow food allergies, although food allergy can be a lifelong concern.

The full report is available here.

October 22, 2008

Vaccine Injury Court Rulings

“The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday upheld a state appeals court ruling that could open the door to product liability claims against vaccine manufacturers by the parents of autistic children. Justice George H. Carley wrote for a unanimous court that a Fulton County suit against manufacturers filed by the parents of an autistic child may to go to trial. The justices rejected what Carley described as a “far-reaching interpretation” of a federal vaccine statute that defendant vaccine manufacturers argued gave them sweeping immunity from liability….. Carley specifically focused on Congress’ intent. He wrote that a reading of the federal vaccine act “and the congressional intent behind it show that the Vaccine Act does not pre-empt all design defect claims.” Instead, Carley noted, the federal vaccine law “provides that a vaccine manufacturer cannot be held liable for defective design if it is determined, on a case-by-case basis, that the injurious side effects of the particular vaccine were unavoidable.” But, the judge added, “The conditional nature of this clause contemplates the occurrence of side effects which are avoidable, and for which a vaccine manufacturer may be civilly liable. In order to bar all liability for defective design and to permit liability only for manufacturing and warning defects, Congress could easily have ….. made the bar to civil liability conditional on proper preparations and warnings.” “As the statute is actually written, however,” Carley continued, “it is best understood as barring liability only for those side effects which were unavoidable by means other than proper manufacturing and packaging. Conversely, if such effects were avoidable by a feasible, alternative design, liability is not completely barred.” Neither can federal law nor, by extension, Congress unilaterally pre-empt state causes of actions, Carley said. Instead, the justice noted that the question of whether a particular vaccine is unavoidably unsafe — and therefore subject to immunity from liability — is a question of fact for a jury to decide.” – R. Robin MacDonald, Law.com (October 7, 2008) http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425070398

“A Missouri appeals court Tuesday upheld an $8.5 million judgment for a St. Louis man who contracted polio after receiving an oral vaccine as a child. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals’ Eastern District also ruled that the vaccine’s manufacturer owed about $2.8 million for prejudgment interest on top of the award because it refused to accept a pretrial settlement offer that was less than the amount awarded by a jury. Cortez Strong contracted polio in June 1987, shortly after receiving a second dose of the vaccine Orimune, which was made by American Cyanamid Co…..Strong sued American Cyanamid and the pediatrician who administered the vaccine. In 2005, a St. Louis jury cleared the doctor of liability but ordered American Cyanamid to pay Strong $1.5 million for pain and suffering, $2 million for future lost earnings and $5 million for future pain and suffering. The company appealed, contending there was insufficient evidence that it was legally liable for Strong’s injuries. The company also sought to have the judgment reduced or set aside or that a new trial be ordered. Strong also appealed, seeking to be allowed to introduce rebuttal evidence against the physician and to have American Cyanamid be ordered to pay interest on the award. The appeals court rejected each request except Strong’s appeal for prejudgment interest. “ – Chris Blank, Associated Press (October 8, 2008)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081008/mo_polio_award.html?.v=1

state laws forcing autism coverage

A look at state laws forcing autism coverage

October 19, 2008

In 2006, Indiana’s insurance commissioner ruled that a law adopted earlier required private health insurers to cover applied behavior analysis, a specific and costly type of autism therapy. In the past two years, other states have adopted their own laws ordering insurance coverage for this treatment.Arizona: Effective June 30, 2009. Covers therapy costing as much as $50,000 per year up to age 9, $25,000 per year up to age 16.

Florida: Effective April 2009. Covers $36,000 per year, $200,000 lifetime up to age 18.

Louisiana: Effective Jan. 1, 2009. Covers $36,000 per year up to age 17.

 

Pennsylvania: Effective July 1, 2009. Covers $36,000 per year up to age 21, no lifetime cap.South Carolina: Effective July 1, 2008. Covers $50,000 per year up to age 16.

Texas: Took effect Jan. 1, 2008. Covers children over age 2, up to age 6.

 

 

Source: Autism Speaks and state insurance commissioners

 

Measles, Mumps, Meningitis Holistic Treatments

Measles (Rubeola)

 A highly contagious acute disease characterized by fever, cough, coryza, conjunctivitis, eruptions (Koplik’s spots) on the buccal and labial mucosa, and a spreading mucopapular cutaneous rash. 
 
Caused by a virus infections that can be spread by physical contact or through the air via respiratory droplets. One bout usually gives immunity for life, but it is possible for some children to get measles twice. The incubation period is between 7 to 14 days, and is most communicable from 2 to 4 days before to 5 days after the rash appears. 
 
Measles is characterized by fever, red eyes with light sensitivity, runny nose, dry and sometimes severe cough, white spots (Koplik’s spots) on the inside of the cheeks, seen 2 days prior to the red rash near the scalp, later involving the upper body. After 3-4 days it has a brownish bronzy appearance with peeling also occurring. The rash lasts 7 days and the child usually begins to feel better by the fourth day. 

 
The herbal contribution to treatments of measles is based upon alleviation of symptomatic distress. The primary areas to address include fever, itching, eye sensitivity and coughing.

·     The fever will be helped with diaphoretic teas such as Catnip (Nepetacataria), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and Linden (Tiliaspp.). For details of appropriate infusions please refer to pgs. 2-71 to 2-79

·     Alleviation of itching can be achieved by the use of the anti-pruritic herbs. An example is Distilled Witch Hazel dabbed onto the itching skin will usually soothe immediately, but very temporary. Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a particularly effective anti-pruritic.

·     Eye strain due to photosensitivity is common, and so the child will prefer a darkened room. An Eyebright (Euphrasiaspp.) wash and a Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) compress. Ms. Riggs instructions for making the Eyebright eyewash:

 
Eyebright Eyewash

1/2 oz. Eyebright 
1 cup water 
Paper coffee filter 
Clean cotton washcloth

1.     Combine the Eyebright and water in a covered pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

2.     Strain the liquid very thoroughly through the coffee filter and discard the herbs. There should be no floating particles in the solution.

3.     When the tea has cooled to a tepid temperature, comfortably warm for the eyes, it is ready to use.

4.     This herbal wash is to be used only once. Discard any leftovers and make a fresh batch each time.

 
Application: Make sure the infant is not hungry or tired before proceeding with the application. Hold the infant securely in your arms and place yourself in a comfortable position on the floor or on a bed. Put the washcloth into the pot of warm tea and place it close to you. Wring out the washcloth with one hand so that it is not dripping but is still quite moist. Gently lay the washcloth across the infant’s eyes and hold it there with very minimal pressure. The infant will close his or her eyes. This is normal and the tea will still be of benefit. Leave the cloth in place over the eyes for 3 minutes, let the infant rest for 3 minutes, then rinse the cloth in the tea and repeat the process 2 more times. The infant will relax at first, then may try to remove the cloth. Keep replacing it gently until the skin around the eyes gets a little red. This is a good sign since it means that blood is circulating in the area. This process may be performed once or twice each day until the infant’s eyes have returned to normal (up to about 1 week). If the infant’s eye disorder seems to cause severe discomfort, or if it persists or gets worse after 1 week of treatment, consult a physician.

   Demulcent expectorants will help with both the cough and any sore throat. Herbs to consider include Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), Mullein(Verbascum thapsus) and Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

 

    Recovery will be further facilitated by good nutrition and possibly using bitter tonics such as Gentian (Gentiana lutea) or Horehound if the cough is persistent.

 

Mumps

 Mumps is a viral infection of childhood that affects the salivary glands, most commonly the parotid glands, located near the ear (hence its medical name, parotitis). The illness begins with a fever, headache, loss of appetite, malaise, and muscle aches. Pain in the ear and under the jaw begins about twenty-four hours later. Over the next one to three days, the salivary glands swell and become very tender. The swelling typically lessens over a course of three to seven days.

The illness is spread by contact with infected saliva. It is somewhat less contagious than either measles or chickenpox. Once a child is infected with the virus, it can incubate for two to three-and-a-half weeks before signs of infection appear. A child is contagious from about six days before the onset of illness to nine days after the glands have become swollen.

Mumps is most common in children from age five through fifteen. It is usually self-limiting and runs its course without complications. One possible long-term complication that does exist occurs in boys, when the virus attacks the testicles. This may result only in pain and swelling initially, but in some cases it can cause infertility the long run, especially if a boy contracts the disease as a teenager or young adult.

Do not give a child aspirin if you think he may have the mumps.The combination of aspirin and a viral infection has been linked to the development of Reye’s syndrome, a dangerous liver disease.

Because mumps is a viral illness, antibiotic therapy is ineffective and therefore not appropriate.

Warm or cool compresses applied to the site of the swollen glands may help relieve the pain and tenderness.

If your son has a case of mumps that causes testicular pain, bed rest is particularly important. It may help lessen the pain if you support the scrotum by using cotton held in place by an adhesive-tape “bridge” between the thighs, and/or if you apply ice packs. In rare cases, where pain and swelling are extremely severe, a corticosteroid may be prescribed to combat these symptoms.

 
Dietary Guidelines 

Mumps causes pain when chewing or swallowing, therefore a diet of soft foods may minimize discomfort.

Avoid citrus fruits or other acidic foods, which can be painful to swallow.

Keep well hydrated. Offer fruit-juice popsicles, spring water, herbal teas, soups, and diluted fruit juices. Once the acute phase of the infection has subsided, immune-boosting astragalus and vegetable soup is very good for supporting recovery.

Eliminate fats as much as possible. Fats are difficult to digest under normal circumstances, and are even harder to digest when the digestive system is weakened by infection. Undigested fats contribute to a toxic internal environment.

 
Nutritional Supplements 

 

Beta-carotene is the precursor to vitamin A, which helps heal mucous membranes.

 

 

Vitamin C and bioflavonoids help to stimulate the immune system.

Zinc stimulates the immune system and promotes healing.

Arnica or peppermint oil, used as a rub, can help to relieve headache. Rub arnica tincture into the temple or forehead area; rub peppermint oil into the temple area. Be very careful to keep tinctures away from your child’s eyes and do not use them on broken skin.  
Note: If you are using peppermint oil as well as a homeopathic preparation, allow one hour between the two. Otherwise, the strong smell of the mint may interfere with the action of the homeopathic remedy.

Feeling restless? A cup of chamomile tea, twice a day, as needed.

Echinacea and Goldenseal combination formula helps to fight viruses and boost the immune system. It also soothes mucous membranes.

Shiitake mushrooms have immune-stimulating properties. They may be taken in capsule form.

Castor oil packs can be soothing to swollen glands. Heat castor oil to a soothing (but not too hot) temperature, soak clean cotton cloths in it, and apply these compresses as often as needed.

 

General

A child with the mumps should be isolated until the swelling of the glands has gone down, to decrease the possibility of spreading the disease.

Make sure your child gets plenty of rest and drinks plenty of fluids. The increased metabolic rate that results from a fever causes the body to lose fluids rapidly.

Apply warm or cool compresses to ease the discomfort of the swollen glands.

Be alert for signs that a secondary infection may be developing. If symptoms seem to get worse, or if new symptoms develop, seek medical treatment.

 
Meningitis

Meningitis is an infection and inflammation of the three meninges, which are thin membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The infection can be caused by either a virus or bacteria. Hemophilus influenzae, or “H. flu.,” is the most common among the bacterial organisms that cause meningitis in children. An infection in the blood (bacteremia), ears, jaw, or sinuses can also lead to an infection of the meninges.

A newborn with meningitis may have poor muscle tone, difficulty feeding, a weak suck and cry, vomiting, irritability, sleepiness, and/or jitteriness. In infants, symptoms of meningitis include a high-pitched cry, irritability, loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy, and possibly a fever or convulsions. An older child is likely to have a fever, chills, vomiting, irritability, headache, and/or a stiff neck. Seizures and changes in consciousness, such as stupor or coma, are possible as the infection progresses.

Meningitis is a serious infection that is potentially life threatening and can cause such long-term consequences as hearing or vision problems. It requires immediate medical attention. If treated early and appropriately, there is a low likelihood of complications or lasting harm to your child.

Nutritional Supplements 
The nutritional supplements listed below are aimed at supporting your child’s recovery from meningitis. They should not be considered a substitute for appropriate antibiotic therapy.

Floradix is an herbal iron supplement that will give your child v,itamins and minerals necessary to rebuild his strength.

GreenMagma is a product that supplies trace minerals and beta carotene end helps to restore strength.

Lactobacillus acidophilus and/or bifidus is very good for restoring bowel health after a regime of potent antibiotics.

The B vitamins help to restore strength.

Vitamin C and bioflavonoids help stimulate the immune system. 

 
Herbal Treatment 

Herbal treatment for meningitis is aimed at supporting your child’s recovery from the illness. It should not be considered a substitute for appropriate antibiotic therapy.

The antibacterial properties of garlic will help resolve infection.

American ginseng is an excellent source of trace minerals and micronutrients. It will also support and strengthen your child’s immune system.  
Note: This herb should be used during recovery only. It should not be given if fever or any other signs of infection are present.

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceous), with its rich concentration of trace minerals and micronutrients, will help strengthen your child’s immune system. Note: This herb should be used during the recovery phase only, not while fever or any other signs of acute infection are present.

 

General:

During the acute phase of meningitis, a quiet, dimly lit room will help ease the headache pain.

Bacterial meningitis- be aware of the possibility of a subtle injury to the brain. Don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor if you are worried about persistent hearing loss, problems with balance or coordination, difficulties with schoolwork, or similar difficulties.

Thimerosal Studies

A collection of some of the research done in the past…

 

History of Thimerosal

 

 * Invented in the 1920’s by Eli Lilly, thimerosal is 49.6% ethlymercury, a neurotoxin known to be more than a hundreds times more powerful than lead.

 

 * Eli Lilly’s safety testing of the product consisted of a 1930 study of 22 patients dying from mengiococcal meningitis in an Indiana hospital. Patients were injected with the solutions and followed until their death, which was within days. Because the patients died of meningitis, they were declared to show no adverse reaction to thimerosal, and the product was declared safe for use.

 

 * Thimerosal was then introduced for use in vaccines and in over the counter remedies as a preservative to kill bacteria in the product.

 

 * When the FDA was created, Thimerosal was grandfathered in and is not subjected to any additional safety testing. The 1930 study remains the only safety testing done on the substance even after being in use for 75 years.

 

  * Through FOIA requests and documents acquired as part of a discovery process in lawsuits against Lilly; it showed they have been warned about and have been aware of the dangers of the product since at least 1947.

 

 * In the 1950’s, the use of thimerosal in teething powders for infants leads to a fatal out break of Acrodynia, or “Pink’s Disease”, which is a form of mercury poisoning. This illness has many symptoms in common with Autism.

 

 * In 1963 Eli Lilly was forwarded an article that read in part:

 “There is another point of practical significance: does the parenteral injection of thimerosal – containing fluids cause disturbances in thimerosal-sensitive patients?” “It is known that persons that are contact sensitive to a drug may tolerate the same medications internally, but it seems advisable to use a preservative other than thimerosal for injections in thimerosal-sensitiv e people.”

 

 * On August 17, 1967 the Medical/Science department requested that the claim “non-toxic” on thimerosal labels be deleted in next printing run. Two weeks later the label was changed to “non-irritating to body tissues,” and the phrase ‘non-toxic’ was omitted.

 

* In 1972 The British Medical Journal reported cases of skin burns resulting from the chemical interaction of thimerosal and aluminum.

 

“Mercury is known to act as a catalyst and to cause aluminum to oxidize rapidly, with the production of heat.” The manufacturers who supply us with thimerosal have been informed.” [Thimerosal is being used in vaccines which also contain aluminum].

 

 * In the 1970’s, six newborns at one hospital died as a result of having a thimerosal containing antiseptic wiped on their wounds.

 

 * In 1982 the FDA reviewed the use of thimerosal. Their statement reads in part:

 

“At the cellular level, thimerosal has been found to be more toxic for human epithelial cells in vitro than mercuric chloride, mercuric nitrate, and merbromim mercurichrom)”…

 

 “It was found to be 35.3 times more toxic for embryonic chick heart tissue than for staphylococcus areus.” A 1950 study showed that thimerosal was no better than water in protecting mice from potential fatal streptococcal infection.”

 

“The Panel concludes that thimerosal is not safe for over the counter topical use because of its potential for cell damage if applied to broken skin and its allergy potential. It is not effective as a topical antimicrobial because its bacteria static action can be reversed.”

 

Additional language added to some Lilly labels: “As with any drug, if you are pregnant or nursing a baby, seek the advice of a health professional before using this product.”

 

 * The FDA orders the withdrawal of over the counter, thimerosal containing products within a 6 month period. They did not order removal from vaccines, but recommends that the issue be studied and that the incidence of neurological problems in unvaccinated populations like the Amish be compared to the vaccinated population. (22 years later no such study has yet been done). On July 19, 2005 Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the CDC, says that such a study would be difficult to undertake because of genetic confounders.

 

* A Merck internal memo is obtained during discovery and disclosed that in 1991 a Merck researcher added up the amount of mercury that is in the new vaccine schedule and sounded an alarm to the company that children who are vaccinated according to the new schedule would receive amounts of mercury far above what is considered to be safe by the EPA. Merck took no action in regard to the information.

 

 * During the 1990’s, autism rates begin to rise dramatically. Parents complained to the health authorities that they believe that their children’s developmental disorders are related to their vaccines.

 

 * In 1998, a researcher at the CDC does the same math that Merck did 7 years previously. She found that children are getting as much as 125 times the EPA limit of mercury for their weight. The EPA limit is based on the ingestion of methlymercury in food by a healthy adult. Because 90% of ingested mercury is excreted in the digestive track and never enters the blood stream, even the EPA limit may be drastically lacking considering that thimerosal is injected directly into the blood stream and is not subject to the bodies natural defenses against toxic poisoning.

 

 * In 1999, the CDC and the American Association of Pediatrics issued a joint statement saying that although they find no “evidence of harm” from the mercury exposure that children are getting in their vaccines, they are calling on vaccine manufacturers to remove it from vaccines on a voluntary basis as a precautionary measure because “some children may” get more than the EPA limit for mercury at their 6 month visits. Manufactures begin the process in 1999, but do not remove it from all vaccines.

 

* No legal ban on thimerosal is issued.  No recall of the mercury laden vaccines is issued and companies continued to sell lots already manufactured.  No statement is issued to pediatricians to alert them to the symptoms of mercury poisoning. No recommendation is made to pediatricians to screen children who suffered the onset neurological impairment after vaccination for mercury toxicity.

 

 * In November of 1999, the CDC commissioned one of its new employees, Thomas Verstraten, to study the Vaccine Safety Datalink to find the risk of autism and other NDD’s in relation to thimerosal exposure. Verstraten’s first draft of the study found a relative risk above 7 for children who receive the highest dose of thimerosal to develop autism. In other words; these children have a more than a 600% higher chance of developing autism than children who don’t receive any thimerosal. (A relative risk of 2 is sufficient proof in U.S. courts to find for vaccine injury) Verstraten and other scientists at the CDC spent 4 years trying to change the study so that the relationship between the preservative and NDD’s is significantly reduced or eliminated. The Center for Disease Control will later describe these changes to the study as “improvements”. When the study is published in 2003, it concludes that “no consistent significant associations are found between thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental outcomes.” By this time Thomas Verstraten, who is listed as a CDC employee on the study, had been an employee of GlaxoSmithKlein (a defendant in thimerosal law suits) for more than 2 years.

 

 * In 2001 Bernard et al. published their hypothesis: Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning. It reads in part: “Exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits defining or associated with autism, and the similarities extend to neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, and biochemistry. Thimerosal, a preservative added to many vaccines, has become a major source of mercury in children who, within their first two years, may have received a quantity of mercury that exceeds safety guidelines. A review of medical literature and US government data suggests that: (i) many cases of idiopathic autism are induced by early mercury exposure from thimerosal; (ii) this type of autism represents an unrecognized mercurial syndrome; and (iii) genetic and non-genetic factors establish a predisposition whereby thimerosal’s adverse effects occur only in some children.”

 

 * In 2001 the Institute of Medicine is commissioned by the CDC to undertake a comprehensive review of all research into the thimerosal/autism connection. At their first meeting, Dr Stratton, head of the commission, when discussing what the process and product of the working group would be states that, “We said this before you got here, and I think we said this yesterday, the point of no return, the line we will not cross in public policy is to pull the vaccine, change the schedule. We could say it is time to revisit this, but we would never recommend that level. Even recommending research is recommendations for policy. We wouldn’t say compensate, we wouldn’t say pull the vaccine, we wouldn’t say stop the program”. When the transcript of the meeting is made public through a FOIA request, many interpret this to mean that no matter what they find, they will not publicly say that there is any link between the thimerosal and autism.

 

 * In 2001 Verstraten presents a version of his study to the IOM. He began his presentation by telling the panel that he had become an employee of Glaxo Smith Klein. Despite the conflict of interest and the drastic changes made over the course of the study, the IOM will rely heavily on the study in making their determination. Dr. Verstraten returns to Belgium and except for a letter published in Pediatrics, little is heard from him again.

 

 * In 2003 the Verstraten Study is published in Pediatrics with no mention of the conflict of interest of the lead researcher. Later, a private contractor would testify before congress that he was ordered to destroy the original data sets used in the 1999 version of the study that found the dramatic link between thimerosal and autism in the interest of “patient confidentiality”. The entire Vaccine Safety Datalink is eventually moved to an offshore private company and can no longer be accessed by FOIA request.

 

* In February of 2004, the IOM rushed to hold public hearings where researchers on both sides of the issues presented their studies. A link is neither proved nor disproved, but new research in to the mechanism of how mercury can trigger autism and NDD’s in a genetically vulnerable sub population is presented, along with case studies of successful treatment of autistic symptoms based on the new research.

 

* In May of 2004, the IOM issued their final conclusion on the link between Thimerosal and NDD’s. They stated that, “the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. The committee further finds that potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autism that have been generated to date are theoretical only.”  They then go on to recommending that research into a link between the two be abandoned and funds be spent on other lines of inquiry. The conclusion relies heavily on Verstraten and several other epidemiological studies that are considered to implement fatally flawed methods and to be riddled with conflict of interest by members of the autism community. Parent groups are enraged. The IOM panel disbands.

 

 * Later that year, Thomas Verstraten published a letter in Pediatrics in response to those who criticize his study and his conflict of interest. His letter did not address the substance of the charges made against the study and the changes that were made to it over it’s four year evolution. Instead it said that continuing to debate the validity of the 1999 study would be a “waste of scientific energy and not to the benefit of the safety of US children or of all children world wide that have the privilege of being vaccinated.” He also stated that any suggestion of impropriety on the part of himself, the CDC or GSK is an insult and accuses his critics of having “pitiable attitudes”.

 

 * In July of 2005, in the face of continuing criticism of the IOM findings, the head of the IOM, Dr. Harvey Fineberg, issued a letter stating that Dr. Stratton’s 2001 comments that they would not say “pull the vaccine” or “change the schedule” were taken out of context and did not suggest that the IOM decision was compromised. Dr. Fineberg has not, despite requests, offered an alternative interpretation of what her comments meant in context.

 

 * In March of 2005, Author David Kirby released his book, Evidence of Harm, detailing the history of thimerosal in vaccines and its relationship to autism.

 

 * In April of 2005 the CDC posted a notice on their web site stating that they were in the process of reviewing the book Evidence of Harm and would be responding to the book.

 

* In June of 2005 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. echoed the information found in the book and charged the CDC and Eli Lilly of malfeasance in covering up evidence of a causal effect between thimerosal and autism in an article published in Rolling Stone and Salon com. It was entitled “Deadly Immunity: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. investigates the government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal”.

 

 * July 19, 2005. The CDC held a press conference to: communicate the importance of infants and children receiving their recommended vaccinations on time, and reassure parents that vaccines are safe. The renewed attention to the potential causal link between thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, and autism was addressed during the press conference. Vaccine safety groups were not informed of the press conference nor invited. The conference presented no new information and did not answer important questions raised in Evidence of Harm or Deadly Immunity about the conduct of the CDC the IOM or the reliability of the research that continues to be used to show no link between thimerosal and autism.

 

 * As of  2007 the CDC had yet to issue its response to Evidence of Harm or to Deadly Immunity.

  

CDC Transcript from Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Ga.

(Short version-Safeminds)

 

 SAFE MIND’s recently obtained the transcribed minutes to the Simpsonwood meeting held June 7-8, 2000 in Norcross, Georgia where the finding of the Vaccine Safety Datalink analysis of Thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental outcomes were reviewed by a panel of experts. There were a number of additional findings not previously reported in the VSD data contained in this document.

 

SAFE MIND’s has summarized a number of comments made by the participants that we feel deserve special consideration. These comments will be categorized as introductory concerns related to the issue of thimerosal containing vaccines made by participants, CDC’s presentations of the VSD data, and discussion comments made after the presentations. The comments in Italics are that of SAFE MIND’s made in reference to the discussion.

 

Introductory comments expressed by participants.

 

 

Dr. Johnston: Page 16 comments made in reference to a prior meeting on thimerosal

 “As an aside, we found cultural differences between vaccinologist and environmental health people in that many of us in the vaccine arena have never thought about uncertainty factors before. We tend to be relatively concrete in our thinking. Probably

one of the big cultural events, at least for me, was when Dr. Clarkson repetitively pointed out to us that we just didn’t get it about uncertainty (factors), and he was actually quite right.”

 

 Dr. Johnston: Page 20: Referring to the mixture of both aluminum and mercury in vaccines…there is absolutely no data including animal data, about the potential for synergy, additivity or antagonism, all of which can occur in binary metal mixtures that relate and allow us to draw any conclusions from the simultaneous exposure to these two salts in vaccines.”

 

Dr. Clarkson: Page 21: “There is an issue that pharmacokinetics might be different too. Again this is all animal work, but the animal studies suggested, for example, a suckling animal does not eliminate methylmercury until the end of the suckling period, and there is a mechanism on the study for that. So there could be an age difference in the excretion rates.”

 

 Dr. Weil: Page 24: “One, up until this last discussion we have been talking about chronic exposure. I think it’s clear to me anyway that we are talking about a problem that is probably more related to bolus acute exposures, and we also need to know that the migration problems and some of the other developmental problems in the central nervous system go on for quite a period after birth. But from all of the other studies of toxic substances, the earlier you work with the central nervous system, the more likely you are to run into a sensitive period for one of these effects, so that moving from one month or one day of birth to six months of birth changes enormously the potential for toxicity. There are just a host of neurodevelopmental data that would suggest that we’ve got a serious problem. The earlier we go, the more serious the problem. The second point I could make is that in relationship to aluminum, being a nephrologist for a long time, the potential for aluminum and central nervous system toxicity was established by dialysis data. To think there isn’t some possible problem here is unreal.”

  

CDC’s presentation of the VSD data by Dr. Verstraeten and Dr. Rhodes.

 

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 31: “ It is sort of interesting that when I first came to the CDC as a NIS officer a year ago only, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but one of the things I knew I didn’t want to do was studies that had to do with toxicology or environmental health. Because I thought it was too much confounding and it’s very hard to prove anything in those studies. Now it turns out that other people also thought that this study was not the right thing to do, so what I will present to you is the study that nobody thought we should do.”

 Page 1 of 5-http://www.erworld.com/research/files/simpsonwood_overview.htm 1/24/2004

 

Dr. Verstraeten: Page 40: “…we have found statistically significant relationships between the exposures and outcomes for these different exposures and outcomes. First, for two months of age, an unspecified developmental delay, which has its own specific ICD9 code. Exposure at three months of age, Tics. Exposure at six months of age, an attention deficit disorder. Exposure at one, three and six months of age, language and speech delays which are two separate ICD9 codes. Exposure at one, three and six months of age, the entire category of neurodevelopmental delays, which includes all of these plus a number of other disorders.”

  

Dr. Verstraeten: Page 42: “But one thing that is for sure, there is certainly an under-ascertainment of all of these because some of the children are just not old enough to be diagnosed. So the crude incidence rates are probably much lower that what you would expect because the cohort is still very young.”

  

Dr. Verstraten: Page 44: “Now for speech delays, which is the largest single disorder in this category of neurologic delays. The results are a suggestion of a trend with a small dip. The overall test for trend is highly statistically significant above one.”

 

 Dr. Verstraten: Page 45: “What this represents is the overall category of developmental delays, of which I have excluded speech delays because of the impression we had was some of the calculations were driven by this speech group, which was making up about half of this category. After excluding this speech group, the trend is also apparent in this group and the test for trend is also significant for this category excluding speech.”

 

 Dr Verstraeten: Page 68: “However, among prematures that becomes significant and we get relative risks up to two and three, whereby the ones that got more thimerosal are at a higher risk than the ones who got the combination vaccine.”

 Dr. Weil: Page 75: “I think that what you are saying is in term of chronic exposure. I think that the alternative scenario is that this is repeated acute exposures, and like many repeated acute exposures, if you consider a dose of 25 micrograms on one day, then you are above threshold. At least we think you are, and then you do that over and over to a series of neurons where the toxic effect may be the same set of neurons or the same set of neurologic processes, it is conceivable that the more mercury you get, the more effect you are going to get.”

 

Dr. Verstraeten: Page 78: “Then the last slide I wanted to show, there was a question of if there was any way from this data that we could estimate what would happen in the future if there is Thimerosal-free HepB and Thimerosalfree haemophilus influenza vaccine and only DTP has Thimerosal.” Page 79 “The second column would be the same scenario but now at six months. Assuming they have received two additional DTPs, so between three and six months of age they have increased their ethylmercury amounts by 50 micrograms. If I do in this current cohort with all its limitations, because there is also the HepB that exists in this cohort*, I can’t really take it out. It is significant for this one disorder which is language delay and it is quite high. Together with that, speech or language delay which is a combination of these two disorders, also becomes significant.” * Dr. Verstraeten could not determine which children got HepB at birth in some cases so it was difficult to back the birth dose of Hep B out of the data.

 

 Dr. Davis: Page 88: “Now one might imagine that [relative risk of 1.018] would just disappear once we actually confirmed these diagnoses from chart review, but in fact it did not. You see if the diagnosis was mentioned in the chart, the relative risk increases ever so slightly.”

 Dr. Rhodes: Page 93: “I think I had two purposes in mind going through the analyses I’ve done. One was a very quick verification that there wasn’t some crucial missing statement in 4,000 lines of programming, and there wasn’t. Tom’s programming was perfectly clear. I also wanted to try to take a different look at the data because I think sometimes we make choices in our analyses. We conceptualize the problem very quickly and then everything else kind of depends on those initial choices and we don’t always go down other pathways…I think we will see that I will approach the data analysis in somewhat of a different way, and I will talk about what some of the results are when I look at the data in somewhat of a different fashion.”

 Page 2 of 5-http://www.erworld.com/research/files/simpsonwood_overview.htm 1/24/2004

 

Dr. Rhodes; Page 99: When you take the three month classification and see what happens to these kids a little later on…even seven to fourteen days later, you can see that there has been substantial movement from zero and the 12.5 mcg group. For example, after seven days at NCK, fully 27% of the zero group has received some sort of vaccination the next seven days and 42% have received some vaccination in the next 14 days. This finding would argue that the proposed thimerosal cohort study involving neurodevelopmental testing should classify exposure by actual exposures the first year of life and not just on the first three months of life.

 

 Dr. Rhodes: Page 104: “I am not advocating totally throwing them [the low mercury exposure group] away and never considering them in any analysis, but at least for now let’s think if we can establish if there are differences in this group of 37 to 75, then in a sense we really don’t need them.”

 

Dr. Rhodes: Page 105: “The other thing that happens at NCK is that even a year or two years after the policy change has been made and all kids are supposedly receiving the combination, there is an odd, small group of kids that supposedly receives separate DTP and Hib (note: with more thimerosal) and an unusually high percentage of those kids are outcomes.”

  

Dr. Rhodes Page 106 “For example, if 1,500 kids were receiving one vaccine combination in that month of birth and 20 were receiving some other, I have removed the 20 completely from the analyses.

  

Dr Rhodes: Page 107. “So you can push, I can pull. But there has been substantial movement from this very highly significant result down to a fairly marginal result.”

Dr. Rhodes recommends excluding the lowest exposure cases, claiming that the fact that their exposures were low suggested family behavior that made them unusual. The low rate of outcomes in this group, of course, added significance. He also suggests excluding some cases that had unusually high exposures and outcomes at the same time, as any high exposure, high outcome group would support the signal.

  

Dr. Verstraeten: Page 142: “But if I can have the next slide, here instead of the proportional hazard model, we did a logistic regression model. I didn’t use person time here and it’s a bit tough to define exactly the control group. However, if I do it for all ages and not looking at different years, and this is for speech, the outcome is almost identical to the proportional hazard model, which suggests to me that it is not a question of bringing the diagnosis forward, but it is really the overall number that drives this estimate.”

 

 Dr. Chen: Page 151: “One of the reasons that led me personally to not be so quick to dismiss the findings was that on his own Tom independently picked three different outcomes that he did not think could be associated with mercury (conjunctivitis, diarrhea and injury)and three out of three had a different pattern across different exposure levels as compared to the ones that again on a priority basis we picked as biologically plausible to be due to mercury exposure.”

 

 Dr Brent: Page 161: “Wasn’t true that if you looked at the population that had 25 micrograms you had a certain risk and when you got to 75 micrograms you had a higher risk.”

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 161: “Yes, absolutely, but these are all at the same time. Measured at the same age at least.”

 

 Dr. Brent: Page 161: “I understand that, but they are different exposures.”

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 161: “Yes”.

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 Dr. Brent: Page 161: “What is your explanation? What explanations would you give for that?”

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 161: “Personally, I have three hypotheses. My first hypotheses is it parental bias. The children that are more likely to be vaccinated are more likely to be picked up and diagnosed. Second hypothesis, I don’t know. There is a bias that I have not recognized, and nobody has yet told me about it. Third hypothesis. It’s true, it’s Thimerosal. Those are my hypotheses.”

 

 Dr. Brent: Page 161: “If its true, which or what mechanisms would explain the finding with?”

 

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 162: “You are asking for biological plausibility?”

 Dr. Brent: Page 162: “Well, yes”

 Dr. Verstraeten: Page 162: “When I saw this, and I went back through the literature, I was actually stunned by what I saw because I thought it is plausible. First of all there is the Faeroe study, which I think people have dismissed too easily, and there is a new article in the same Journal that was presented here, the Journal of Pediatrics, where they have looked at PCB. They have looked at other contaminants in seafood and they have adjusted for that, and still mercury comes out. That is one point. Another point is that in many of the studies with animals, it turned out that there is quite a different result depending on the dose of mercury. Depending on the route of exposure and depending on the age at which the animals were exposed. Now, I don’t know how much you can extrapolate that from animals to humans, but that tells me mercury at one month of age is not the same as mercury at three months, at 12 months, prenatal mercury, later mercury. There is a whole range of plausible outcomes from mercury. On top of that, I think that we cannot so easily compare the U.S. population to Faeroe or Seychelles populations. We have different mean levels of exposure. We are comparing high to high in the Seychelles, high to high in the Faeroe and low to low in the U.S., so I am not sure how easily you can transpose one finding to another one. So basically to me that leaves all the options open, and that means I can not exclude such a possible effect.”

  

Discussion comments made by participants after the presentations.

 

 Dr. Johnson: Page 198: “This association leads me to favor a recommendation that infants up to two years old not be immunized with Thimerosal containing vaccines if suitable alternative preparations are available. I do not believe the diagnoses justifies compensation in the Vaccine Compensation Program at this point. I deal with causality, it seems pretty clear to be that the data are not sufficient one way or the other. My gut feeling? It worries me enough. Forgive this personal comment, but I got called out a eight o’clock for an emergency call and my daughter-in-law delivered a son by C-Section. Our first male in the line of the next generation, and I do not want that grandson to get a Thimerosal containing vaccine until we know better what is going on. It will probably take a long time. In the meantime, and I know there are probably implications for this internationally, but in the meantime I think I want that grandson to only be given Thimerosal-free vaccines.”

 

 Dr. Weil: Page 207: “ The number of dose related relationships are linear and statistically significant. You can play with this all you want. They are linear. They are statistically significant. The positive relationships are those that one might expect from the Faroe Islands studies. They are also related to those data we do have on experimental animal data and similar to the neurodevelopmental tox data on other substances, so that I think you can’t accept that this is out of the ordinary. It isn’t out of the ordinary. The Seychelles Island studies and somebody said the Faeroe Islands studies both, were chronic exposures. We are not talking necessarily about chronic exposure. We are talking about a series of acute exposures and at one point in time that exposure is much greater on one day than any of the Seychelles Islands. The increased incidence of neurobehavioral problems in children in the past few decades is probably real…I work in the school system where my effort is entirely in special education and I have to say that the number of kids getting help in special education is growing nationally and state by state at a rate we have not seen before.

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 Dr. Weil: Page 208: “The rise in the frequency of neurobehavioral disorders whether it is ascertainment or real, is not too bad. It is much too graphic. We don’t see that kind of genetic change in 30 years.”

 Dr. Brent: Page 229: “The medical legal findings in this study, causal or not, are horrendous and therefore, it is important that the suggested epidemiological, pharmacokinetic, and animal studies be performed. If an allegation was made that a child’s neurobehavioral findings were caused by Thimerosal containing vaccines, you could readily find a junk scientist who would support the claim with “a reasonable degree of certainty”. But you will not find a scientist with any integrity who would say the reverse with the data that is available. And that is true. So we are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any lawsuits if they were initiated and I am concerned.”

 Dr. Clements: Page 247: “I am really concerned that we have taken off like a boat going down one arm of the mangrove swamp at high speed, when in fact there was not enough discussion really early on about which way the boat should go at all. And I really want to risk offending everyone in the room by saying that perhaps this study should not have been done at all, because the outcome of it could have, to some extent, been predicted, and we have all reached this point now where we are left hanging, even though I hear the majority of consultants say to the Board that they are not convinced there is a causality direct link between Thimerosal and various neurological outcomes. I know how we handle it from here is extremely problematic. The ACIP is going to depend on comments from this group in order to move forward into policy, and I have been advised that whatever I say should not move into the policy area because that is not the point of this meeting. But nonetheless, we know from many experiences in history that the pure scientist has done research because of pure science. But that pure science has resulted in splitting the atom or some other process which is completely beyond the power of the scientists who did the research to control it. And what we have here is people who have, for every best reason in the world, pursued a direction of research. But there is now the point at which the research results have to be handled, and even if this committee decides that there is no association and that information gets out, the work that has been done and through the freedom of information that will be taken by others and will be used in ways beyond them control of this group. And I am very concerned about that as I suspect it is already too late to do anything regardless of any professional body and what they say…”

 Dr. Bernier: Page 113: “We have asked you to keep this information confidential. We do have a plan for discussing these data at the upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 21 and June 22. At that time CDC plans to make a public release of this information, so I think it would serve all of our interests best if we could continue to consider these data. The ACIP work group will be considering also. If we could consider these data in a certain protected environment. So we are asking people who have a great job protecting this information up until now, to continue to do that until the time of the ACIP meeting. So too basically consider this embargoed information. That would help all of us to use the machinery that we have in place for considering these data and for arriving at policy recommendations.”

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 Among the growing number of studies and reports confirming a possible link are the following: 

 2006-

“A study released showing reduced autism diagnoses coincide with the reduction of mercury-containing vaccines given to children. The study, conducted by Mark Geier, M.D. and David Geier and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, shows reduced autism rates since the removal of mercury from most childhood vaccines. These findings bolster voluminous studies and data confirming that increased use of mercury-containing vaccines in the 1980’s and 1990’s led to an epidemic of neurological disorders among American children.”

 

 

 

Children with autism appear to be unable to rid their bodies of the mercury that they are exposed to.  (Deth et al, Holmes et al) 

Some populations that have not been exposed to vaccines experience little, if any, autism. (Olmsted 1, 2)  

Thimerosal has been shown to be toxic to brain cells. (Haley) 

Mice injected with thimerosal develop autism-like symptoms. (Hornig) 

Some children who have mercury chelated (chemically bound and removed) from their bodies show a reduction in autism symptoms. (Rimland) 

“Children with autism excrete more mercury than controls.” (Bradstreet via Congressman Dave Weldon) 

Coincident with the decline in thimerosal use in vaccinations for infants and children, the incidence of autism appears to be declining as well, at least in California.  (safeMinds)   

 

Affidavit Of Boyd E. Haley. Professor And Chair. Department Of Chemistry. University Of Kentucky : Thimerosal Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopment Outcomes

 Dr. Haley’s website for more information on Thimerosal and vaccines:

http://www.altcorp.com/DentalInformation/thimerosal.htm 
 
Also:http://iquebec.ifrance.com/autismemtl/2002/program_en.html

 

Alan E. Moses November 21, 2006

“Mercury and man have had a very long relationship. The uses for this liquid metal are many. From medicine, mining, agriculture, dentistry to pollution from the burning of fossil fuels the uses have been boundless. Most of us remember the Madhatter from Alice in Wonderland as this was a common reference to the use of mercury in forming felt hats in the 1800’s. Most of these hat makers were known to be somewhat eccentric from exposure to the mercury. As the term “A night with Venus leads to a life with mercury.”

That was an often used term during the American Civil War as mercury was used to treat venereal diseases contracted from the brothels that soldiers frequented.

As dental care became more widely available the use of mercury in amalgams was used to stop the spread of tooth decay. This is generally 50% mercury and studies suggest that these amalgams release mercury continuously into our systems. Due to mercury being a very good antibacterial the uses in paint, contact lens solutions and cleaning supplies became widespread. Blood pressure gauges thermometers and thermostats are just some of the other uses we found for this amazing liquid metal.

As time has progressed and more became known there was a realization that there was a serious problem that was developing. Mercury not only is a very affective antibacterial it is also extremely dangerous to humans and destroys brain cells and disrupts neurotransmitters. Ironically it is that many of the disorders that seem to have become more prevalent in today’s world are in fact problems with the incorrect functioning of neurotransmitters. Yet the government refuses to put the association together for fear of lawsuits that would arise as mercury is everywhere. Human exposure has been massive to say the least.

One thing that must be noted is that mercury levels can’t be obtained from simple blood tests as it binds to fatty tissues in the body and brain therefore it is not on the move as other metals or toxins are in the bloodstream. It has been found that only by introducing treatments that rid the body of mercury can it be determined the amount you may have been carrying. This is done with analysis of levels expelled through the urine.

Thimerosal Lab Studies

 1. Induces DNA Breaks, Caspase-3 Activation, Membrane Damage, and Cell Death in Cultured Human Neurons and Fibroblasts. Baskin DS, et al. Toxicol Sci 2003; 74: 361–368.

 2. Inhibits methionine synthase in neuroblastoma cells (=>prevents normal growth?) Deth RC et al. Molecular Psychiatry 2004:9:358-70.

 3. Neurotoxic Effects of Postnatal Thimerosal are Mouse Strain Dependant (genetic basis for different human responses?). Hornig M, et al. Molecular Psychiatry 2004:9:833-5.

 4. Neurotoxicity is associated with glutathione (= major intracellular defense vs. Hg) depletion in cultured human cells. James SJ., et al. Neurotoxicology 2005; 26:1-8.

 5. Neurotoxicity (neurons, astrocytes and microglia) in 6 specific regions of monkey CNS following low-level thimerosal exposure.

 

 Conclusions of IOM Report Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. October 1, 2001:

The committee concludes that although the hypothesis that exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines could be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders is not established and rests on indirect and incomplete information, primarily from analogies with methylmercury and levels of maximum mercury exposure from vaccines given in children, the hypothesis is biologically plausible. The committee also concludes that the evidence is inadequate to accept or reject a causal relationship between thimerosal exposures from childhood vaccines and the neurodevelopmental disorders of autism, ADHD, and speech or language delay.

 

 

 

Early Downward Trends in Neurodevelopmental Disorders Following Removal of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines. Volume 11, Number 1, Spring 2006 of the peer-reviewed Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.

 

Study Links Mercury from the Thimerosal in Vaccines with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Study in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences [1], the official journal of the World Federation of Neurology [2], links mercury from the Thimerosal in vaccines with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Read the abstract online  here :

Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: An assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink. 

 

 

 

Abstract

 
The study evaluated possible associations between neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) and exposure to mercury (Hg) from Thimerosalcontaining vaccines (TCVs) by examining the automated Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). A total of 278,624 subjects were identified in birth cohorts from 1990–1996 that had received their first oral polio vaccination by 3 months of age in the VSD. The birth cohort prevalence rate of medically diagnosed International Classification of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9) specific NDs and control outcomes were calculated. Exposures to Hg from TCVs were calculated by birth cohort for specific exposure windows from birth-7 months and birth-13 months of age. Poisson regression analysis was used to model the association between the prevalence of outcomes and Hg doses from TCVs. Consistent significantly increased rate ratios were observed for autism, autism spectrum disorders, tics, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disturbances with Hg exposure from TCVs. By contrast, none of the control outcomes had significantly increased rate ratios with Hg exposure from TCVs. Routine childhood vaccination should be continued to help reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, but efforts should be undertaken to remove Hg from vaccines. Additional studies should be conducted to further evaluate the relationship between Hg exposure and NDs.

 

 

 

Study links vaccines containing mercury with autism By Roman Bystrianyk

 

 

Maternal amalgam dental fillings as the source of mercury exposure in developing fetus and newborn.

Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (2008) 18, 326–331; doi:10.1038/sj.jes.7500606; published online 12 September 2007.

 

Abstract:

 

Top of page

Dental amalgam is a mercury-based filling containing approximately 50% of metallic mercury (Hg⁰). Human placenta does not represent a real barrier to the transport of Hg⁰; hence, fetal exposure occurs as a result of maternal exposure to Hg, with possible subsequent neurodevelopmental disabilities in infants. This study represents a substudy of the international NIH-funded project “Early Childhood Development and polychlorinated biphenyls Exposure in Slovakia”. The main aim of this analysis was to assess the relationship between maternal dental amalgam fillings and exposure of the developing fetus to Hg. The study subjects were mother–child pairs (N=99). Questionnaires were administered after delivery, and chemical analyses of Hg were performed in the samples of maternal and cord blood using atomic absorption spectrometry with amalgamation technique. The median values of Hg concentrations were 0.63  g/l (range 0.14–2.9  g/l) and 0.80  g/l (range 0.15–2.54  g/l) for maternal and cord blood, respectively. None of the cord blood Hg concentrations reached the level considered to be hazardous for neurodevelopmental effects in children exposed to Hg in utero (EPA reference dose for Hg of 5.8  g/l in cord blood). A strong positive correlation between maternal and cord blood Hg levels was found ( =0.79; P<0.001). Levels of Hg in the cord blood were significantly associated with the number of maternal amalgam fillings ( =0.46, P<0.001) and with the number of years since the last filling ( =- 0.37, P<0.001); these associations remained significant after adjustment for maternal age and education. Dental amalgam fillings in girls and women of reproductive age should be used with caution, to avoid increased prenatal Hg exposure.

 

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE VACCINE COVER-UP by Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. 

It should also be noted that it is a misnomer to say “removal of thimerosal” since they are not removing anything. They just plan to stop adding it to future vaccines once they use up existing stocks, which entails millions of doses. And, incredibly, the government allows them to do it. 

Even more incredibly, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practice similarly endorse this insane policy. In fact, they specifically state that children should continue to receive the thimerosal-containing vaccines until new thimerosal-free vaccines can be manufactured at the will of the manufacturers. Are they afraid that there will be a sudden diphtheria epidemic in America or tetanus epidemic? 
The most obvious solution was to use only single-dose vials, which requires no preservative. So why don’t they use them? 
Oh, they exclaim, it would add to the cost of the vaccine. Of course, we are only talking about a few dollars per vaccine at most, certainly worth the health of your child’s brain and future. They could use some of the hundreds of millions of dollars they waste on vaccine promotion every year to cover these costs for the poor. Then, that would cut into some “fat cat’s” budget and we can’t have that. 

 

…Therefore, what they are admitting is that we have a form of mercury that has been used in vaccines since the 1930s and no one has bothered to study its effects on biological systems, especially the brain of infants. Their defense throughout this conference is “We just don’t know the effects of ethylmercury.” As a solution, they resort to studies on methylmercury, because there are thousands of studies on this form of mercury. The major source of this form is seafood consumption. 

It takes them a while to get the two forms of mercury straight, since for several pages of the report they say methylmercury is in thimerosal rather than ethylmercury.

 

… First, what is a vaccinologist? Do you go to school to learn to be one? How many years of residency training are required to be a vaccinologist? Are there board exams? 
It’s a stupid term used to describe people who are obsessed with vaccines, not that they actually study the effects of the vaccines, as we shall see throughout this meeting. 
Most important is the admission by Dr. Johnson that he and his fellow “vaccinologists” are so blinded by their obsession with forcing vaccines on society that they never even considered that there might be factors involved that could greatly affect human health, the so-called “uncertainties.” 
Further, he and his fellow “vaccinologists” like to think in concrete terms. That is, they are very narrow in their thinking and wear blinders that prevent them from seeing the numerous problems occurring with large numbers of vaccination in infants and children. Their goal in life is to vaccinate as many people as possible with an ever-growing number of vaccines. 

 

… if these outside groups had not become involved, these “vaccinologists” would have continued to add more and more mercury-containing vaccines to the list of required vaccines. Only when the problem became so obvious — that is of epidemic proportion (close to that now) and the legal profession became involved — would they have even noticed there was a problem. This is a recurring theme in the government’s regulatory agencies, as witnessed with fluoride, aspartame, MSG, dioxin and pesticides issues. 
It is also interesting that Dr. Johnson did admit that the greatest risk was among low birth weight infants and premature infants. Now why would that be if there existed such a large margin of safety with mercury used in vaccines? Could just a few pounds of body weight make such a dramatic difference? 
In fact, it does but it also means that normal birth weight children, especially those near the low range of normal birth weight, are also in greater danger. It also would mean that children receiving doses of mercury higher than the 72 ug in this study would be at high risk as well because their dose, based on body weight, would be comparable to that of the low birth weight child receiving the lower dose. 
This was never even considered by these “vaccinologist experts” who decide policy for your children.

 

… The data is convincing enough that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practice, as well as the regulatory agencies and the CDC along with these organizations all recommend its removal as quickly as possible because of concerns of adverse effects of mercury on brain development, but not for the children in the developing countries.

 

It also needs to be appreciated that children in developing countries are at a much greater risk of complications from vaccinations and from mercury toxicity than children in developed countries. This is because of poor nutrition, concomitant parasitic and bacterial infections and a high incidence of low birth weight in these children. 

..Aluminum and mercury are often simultaneously administered to infants, both at the same site and at different sites.” Also on page 20, he states, “However, we also learned that there is absolutely no data, including animal data, about the potential for synergy, additively or antagonism, all of which can occur in binary metal mixtures … ” 

 

 

 

 

…In fact, we know that aluminum is a significant neurotoxin and that it shares many common mechanisms with mercury as a neurotoxin. For example: 
• They are both toxic to neuronal neurotubules.  
• Interfere with antioxidant enzymes.  
• Poison DNA repair enzymes.  
• Interfere with mitochondrial energy production.  
• Block the glutamate reuptake proteins (GLT-1 and GLAST).  
• Bind to DNA.  
• Interfere with neuronal membrane function. 
Toxins that share toxic mechanisms are almost always additive and frequently synergistic in their toxicity…. significant number of studies have shown that both of these metals play a significant role in all of the neurodegenerative disorders. It is also important to remember, both of these metals accumulate in the brain and spinal cord. This makes them accumulative toxins and therefore much more dangerous than rapidly excreted toxins.  

 
Dr. Brent makes the statement that he knows of no known genetic susceptibility data on mercury and, therefore, assumes there is a fixed threshold of toxicity. That is, that everyone is susceptible to the same dose of mercury and there are no genetically hypersensitive groups of people. 
In fact, a recent study found just such a genetic susceptibility in mice. In this study, they found mice susceptible to autoimmunity developed neurotoxic effects to their hippocampus, including excitotoxicity, not seen in other strains of mice. They even hypothesize that the same may be true in humans, since familial autoimmunity increases the likelihood of autism in offspring. (Hornig M, Chian D, Lipkin WI. Neurotoxic effects of postnatal thimerosal are mouse strain dependent. Mol Psychiatry 2004; (in press). 

 

 

 

…They simply covered this study up, declared that thimerosal is of no concern and continued the unaltered policy. That is, they can suggest the pharmaceutical manufacturers of vaccines remove the thimerosal but not making it mandatory or examining the vaccine to make sure they have removed it. 

 

Let’s take a small peak at just how much we can trust the pharmaceutical manufacturers to do the right thing. Several reports of major violations of vaccine manufacturing policy that have been cited by the regulatory agencies have surfaced. This includes obtaining plasma donations without taking adequate histories on donors as to disease exposures and previous health problems, poor record keeping on these donors, improper procedures and improper handing of specimens. 

 

 

 

 

 

…Contamination of vaccines is a major concern in this country as well, as these regulatory violations make plain. It is also important to note that no fines were given, just warnings. 

 

Dr. Loren Koller, pathologist and immunotoxicologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, is to be congratulated in that he recognized that more is involved in the vaccine effects than just ethylmercury. (page 192). 

 

He mentions aluminum and even the viral agents being used as other possibilities. This is especially important in the face of Dr. RK Gherardi’s identification of macrophagic myofascitis, a condition causing profound weakness and multiple neurological syndromes, one of which closely resembled multiple sclerosis. Both human studies and animal studies have shown a strong causal relationship to the aluminum hydroxide or aluminum phosphate used as a vaccine adjuvants. 

 

Here are some of the neurological problems seen with the use of aluminum hydroxide and aluminum phosphate in vaccines. In two children (ages 3 and 5), doctors at the All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., described chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, urinary retention and other findings indicative of a generalized loss of autonomic nervous system function (diffuse dysautonomia). 
The 3-year-old had developmental delay and hypotonia (loss of muscle tone). A biopsy of the children’s vaccine injection site disclosed elevated aluminum levels. 

 

In a study of some 92 patients suffering from this emerging syndrome, eight developed a full-blown demyelinating CNS disorder (multiple sclerosis). (Authier FJ, Cherin P, et al. Central nervous system disease in patients with macrophagic myofasciitis. Brain 2001; 124: 974-983.) This included sensory and motor symptoms, visual loss, bladder dysfunction, cerebellar signs (loss of balance and coordination),cognitive (thinking) and behavioral disorders. 

Dr. Gherardi, the French physician who first described the condition in 1998, has collected more than 200 proven cases. One-third of these develop an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Of critical importance is his finding that, even in the absence of obvious autoimmune disease, there is evidence of chronic immune stimulation caused by the injected aluminum, known to be a very powerful immune adjuvant.

The reason this is so important is that there is overwhelming evidence that chronic immune activation in the brain (activation of microglial cells in the brain) is a major cause of damage in numerous degenerative brain disorders, from multiple sclerosis to the classic neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and ALS). 
In fact, I have presented evidence that chronic immune activation of CNS microglia is a major cause of autism, attention deficit disorder and Gulf War Syndrome. 

Dr. Gherardi emphasizes that once the aluminum is injected into the muscle, the immune activation persists for years. In addition, we must consider the effect of the aluminum that travels to the brain itself. Numerous studies have shown harmful effects when aluminum accumulates in the brain. 

A growing amount of evidence points to high brain aluminum levels as a major contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and possibly Parkinson’s disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). This may also explain the tenfold increase in Alzheimer’s disease in those receiving the flu vaccine five years in a row (Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, in press, Journal of Clinical Investigation). 

It is also interesting to note that a recent study found that aluminum phosphate produced three times the blood level of aluminum, as did aluminum hydroxide. (Flarend RE, hem SL, et al. In vivo absorption of aluminum-containing vaccine adjuvants using 26 Al. Vaccine 1997; 15: 1314-1318.) 

 

 

 

…Dr. Rapin notes that a study in California found a 300 percent increase in autism following the introduction of certain vaccines. She quickly attributes this to better physician recognition. Two things are critical to note at this point. 

1. Dr. Rapin makes this assertion or better physician recognition without any data at all, just her wishful thinking. If someone pointing out the dangers of vaccines were to do that, she would scream “junk science.” 

2. Dr. Weil, on page 207, attacks this reasoning when he says, “The number of dose-related relationships are linear and statistically significant. You can play with this all you want. They are linear. They are statistically significant.” In other words, how can you argue with results that show a strong dose/response relationship between the dose of mercury and neurodevelopmental outcomes? The higher the mercury levels in the children, the greater the number of neurological problems. 

He continues by saying that the increase in neurobehavioral problems is probably real. He tells them that he works in a school system with special education programs and “I have to say the number of kids getting help in special education is growing nationally and state by state at a rate not seen before. So there is some kind of increase.

 

…Dr. Johnson seems to be impressed by the findings as well. He says on page 199, “This association leads me to favor a recommendation that infants up to two-years-old not be immunized with thimerosal containing vaccines if suitable alternative preparations are available.” 

Incredibly, he quickly adds, “I do not believe the diagnosis justified compensation in the Vaccine Compensation Program at this point.” It is interesting to note that one of our experts in attendance is Dr. Vito Caserta, the Chief Officer for the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. 

 

 

 

 

… mercury, even in low concentrations, is known to impair energy production by mitochondrial enzymes. The brain has one of the highest metabolic rates of any organ and impairment of its energy supply, especially during development, can have devastating consequences. In addition, mercury, even in lower concentrations, is known to damage DNA and impair DNA repair enzymes, which again, plays a vital role in brain development. 

Mercury is known to impair neurotubule stability, even in very low concentrations. Neurotubules are absolutely essential to normal brain cell function. Mercury activates microglial cells, which increases excitotoxicity and brain free radical production as well as lipid peroxidation, central mechanisms in brain injury. 

 

In addition, even in doses below that which can cause obvious cell injury, mercury impairs the glutamate transport system, which in turn triggers excitotoxicity, a central mechanism in autism and other neurological disorders. Ironically, aluminum also paralyzes this system. 

 

… they discuss how to control this information so that it will not get out and, if it does, how to control the damage. On page 248, Dr. Clements has this to say: 
“But there is now the point at which the research results have to be handled, and even if this committee decides that there is no association and that information gets out, the work has been done and through the freedom of information that will be taken by others and will be used in other ways beyond the control of this group. And I am very concerned about that as I suspect that it is already too late to do anything regardless of any professional body and what they say.” 
In other words, he wants this information kept not only from the public but also from other scientists and pediatricians until they can be properly counseled. In the next statement, Dr. Clements spills the beans as to why he is determined that no outsider get hold of this damaging information. 
“My mandate as I sit here in this group is to make sure at the end of the day that 100,000,000 are immunized with DTP, Hepatitis B and if possible Hib, this year, next year and for many years to come, and that will have to be with thimerosal-containing vaccines unless a miracle occurs and an alternative is found quickly and is tried and found to be safe.” 

This top secret meeting was held to discuss a study done by Dr. Thomas Verstraeten and his co-workers using Vaccine Safety Datalink data as a project collaboration between the CDC’s National Immunization Program (NIP) and four HMOs. The study examined the records of 110,000 children. Within the limits of the data, they did a very thorough study and found the following: 
• Exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines at one month was associated significantly with the misery and unhappiness disorder that was dose-related. That is, the higher the child’s exposure to thimerosal the higher the incidence of the disorder. This disorder is characterized by a baby that cries uncontrollably and is fretful more so than is seen in normal babies.  
• Found a nearly significant increased risk of ADD with 12.5ug exposure at one month. 
• With exposure at 3 months, they found an increasing risk of neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing exposure to thimerosal. This was statistically significant. This included speech disorders. 
It is important to remember that the control group was not children without thimerosal exposure, but rather those at 12.5ug exposure. This means that there is a significant likelihood that even more neurodevelopmental problems would have been seen had they used a real control population. No one disagreed that these findings were significant and troubling. 

 

 

Yet when the final study was published in the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Verstraeten and co-workers reported no consistent associations were found between thimerosal-containing vaccine exposure and neurodevelopmental problems. In addition, he listed himself as an employee of the CDC, not disclosing the fact that at the time the article was accepted, he worked for GlaxoSmithKline, a vaccine manufacturing company. 
So how did they do this bit of prestidigitation? They simply added another HMO to the data, the Harvard Pilgrimage. Rep. Weldon noted in his letter to the CDC director that this HMO had been in receivership by the state of Massachusetts because its records were in shambles. Yet, this study was able to make the embarrassing data from his previous study disappear. 

Attempts by Weldon to force the CDC to release the data to an independent researcher, Dr. Mark Geier, a researcher with impeccable credentials and widely published in peer-reviewed journals, have failed repeatedly.  

 

 President Bush’s Executive Order 10789 was put into place that protects a

vaccine producer from being sued for any well proven injury injecting this poison has caused. 

Thimerosal was nearly eliminated in many countries 20 years ago. In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury, the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including obtundation, coma and death. As a result of these findings, Russia banned thimerosal from children’s vaccines in 1980. Denmark, Austria, Japan, Great Britain and all the Scandinavian countries have also banned the preservative for children. Most adult vaccines throughout Europe still contain thimerosal. In America this so-called “preservative” is approved to continue to be used up until the year 2010.

 

 

 

 

Infant stool eliminates vaccinal mercury slowly suggesting high retention in tissue

In a study in The Lancet, Pichichero et al 1 argued that ethylmercury administered to infants through vaccines is eliminated rapidly from the blood and effectively excreted in stool. Our analysis of this data, combined with a more recent analysis2 of mercury excretion in baby hair suggests a more worrisome interpretation, one that offers support for the hypothesis3 linking early mercury exposures with autism. 

Our calculations suggest that Pichichero et al. overstated the significance of their excretion findings. Although their data support a rapid rate of ethylmercury elimination from blood, instead of similarly rapid stool elimination, their findings demonstrate slow stool excretion in many infants, suggesting that significant amounts of ethylmercury from vaccines may be retained in infant tissue. 

Most methyl mercury is eliminated from the body through stool and ethyl mercury from vaccines most likely follows the same path. Both mercury species must pass out of the blood to allow excretion in feces or (in lesser amounts) hair. 4 Nevertheless elimination from blood also allows for mercury transport into tissue, without prompt excretion. Our analysis of mercury excretion in autistic and control baby hair demonstrated that, although mercury was excreted at high rates in hair of normal infants, hair of autistic infants contained very little mercury, only 0.47 mcg/g versus 3.63 mcg/g in controls. This finding raises the possibility of increased mercury retention in the tissue of autistic infants, who also had higher rates of prenatal mercury exposure. 

Pichichero et al provide data specific to infant mercury excretion through feces. They measured mercury concentrations in stool of 22 normal infants exposed to thimerosal in vaccines, ages two and six months, and found a range of 23-141 nanograms of mercury per gram of stool (dry weight). The authors interpreted these levels, mere parts per billion, as positive evidence of mercury elimination. 

But these mercury concentrations are extremely low, not nearly enough to allow rapid excretion. Infant dry weight stool volumes have been measured at between 1-3 grams per kilogram (kg) per day.5 Based on the 50^th percentile weight progression from 3.5-8 kg in the zero-six month period, infant stool volumes may be expected to range from 6-18 grams (dry weight) per day. Taking the stool concentration range for mercury from Pichichero et al, we calculated the time required for an infant to excrete the ethylmercury (187.5 mcg) that U.S. infants received by six months of age during the 1990s.

Stool Hg concentration Daily Hg excretion Days to excrete 187.5 mcg

(ng/g) (mcg/day) (days)

Minimum: 23 0.14-0.41 457-1,339

Maximum: 140 0.84-2.52 74-223

In the case of maximum excretion, early vaccine exposures are eliminated within the time period of exposure, but for those children with stool concentrations at the low end of the range, the infant elimination rate rises to nearly four years. For autistic infants, with evidence of reduced excretion in hair and additional fetal exposures2 (from maternal amalgam filling, fish consumption and Rho D immunoglobulin injections) these excretion times were likely far longer. 

Our analysis contradicts the optimism expressed by Pichichero et al and suggests that low mercury excretion rates in some infants may underlie the link between mercury exposures and autism.

 
Mark F. Blaxill  Director, Safe Minds

Boyd E. Haley, PhD  Professor of Chemistry and Department Chairman  University of Kentucky

 

 

ALL Thimerosal Vaccine In The 1990s Had Mercury MORE TOXIC Than Hazardous Waste

From AUTISMconnectThe Dots
06-01-2006

Please review the following post from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and consider the following. Every thimerosal containing vaccine which was administered during the 1990’s (a large number of the total mandatory vaccine protocol) contained levels of mercury which were hundreds of times more toxic than hazardous waste according to the EPA’s own website.

This is a federal law that applies to all states:

“If mercury levels in a waste exceed the Toxicity Characteristic Leach Test (TCLP) level of 0.2 mg/L for mercury, then the waste is identified as a hazardous waste based on the toxicity characteristic”.

 

 

Journal of American Medical Association 1948 publication on thimerosal

 

Dr. Morton of the Department of Bacteriology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. North of the Philadelphia General Hospital, and Mr. Engley of Camp Detrick under a grant from the Council of Pharmacy and Chemistry, American Medical Association have published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association** evaluating the use of mercurials in medicine (Bacteriostatic & Bactericidal Actions of Some Mercurial Compounds1a.pdf in Adobe Acrobat Format). This article, “The Bacteriostatic and Bactericidal Action of Some Mercurial Compounds on Hemolytic Streptococci: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies” reports that “Mercurial compounds have been employed as disinfectants since the beginning of bacteriology. Indeed, for a long period mercurial compounds, such as bichloride of mercury, headed the list of chemical which were thought to be effective in the killing of microorganisms.”

The authors reported, “…the label on a bottle of ‘Solution Merthiolate [Thimerosal], 1 : 1,000, Stainless’ purchased…states that it is ‘a stable, stainless, organic mercury compound of high germicidal value, particularly in serum and other protein media.’ ” The authors stated in their article regarding this claim, “It [Thimerosal] is not highly germicidal and especially does not possess high germicidal value in the presence of
serum and other protein mediums. The loss of antibacterial activity of mercurials
in the presence of serum proves their incompatibility with serum.”

In addition, the authors commented regarding the toxicity of Thimerosal, “The comparative in vitro studies of mercurochrome, metaphen and merthiolate
[Thimerosal] on embryonic tissue cells and bacterial cells by Salle and Lazarus [Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology & Medicine, February 1935] cannot be ignored. These investigators found that metaphen, merthiolate [Thimerosal], and mercurochrome were 12, 35 and 262 times respectively more toxic for embryonic tissue cells than for Staphylococcus aureus. Nye [Journal of the American Medical Association, January 1937] and Welch [from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Journal of Immunology 1939] also found the same three mercurial compounds more toxic for leukocytes than for bacterial cells. Not only is there a direct toxic action of the mercurial compounds on the cellular and humoral components of the animal body, but there is also the possibility of sensitization.”

It should be noted that Mr. Engley has subsequently published in the Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences## an article, “Evaluation of Mercurials
as Antiseptics” in which he declared regarding mercurial compounds such as
Thimerosal, “…mercurials are ineffective in vivo and may be more toxic for
tissue cells than bacterial cells, as shown in mice (Nungester and Kempf, 1942) (Sarber, 1942) (Spaulding and Bondi, 1947) tissue culture (Salle and Catlin, 1947) and embryonic eggs (Witlin, 1942) (Green and Kirkeland, 1944), and with leucocytes (Welch and Hunter, 1940).”

It is clear from this research supported by a grant from the American Medical Association that Thimerosal is neither efficacious nor safe, and should be removed as a preservative in prescription biologics and pharmaceutical products, as well as from topical over-the-counter products such as Butt-Balm that have Thimerosal present in their formulations as an active ingredient.

** It should be noted that this article was published in the January 1948 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

 

** It should be noted that this article was published in 1950 in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

 

 Thimerosal and Vaccine Risks by Neal A. Halsey, M.D.

 

Paracetamol Use in Infancy and Risk of Asthma in Children Aged 6 to 7 Years

Paracetamol Use in Infancy and Risk of Asthma in Children Aged 6 to 7 Years: Presented at ERS

By Chris Berrie

BERLIN — October 8, 2008 — The reported use of paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the first year of life is associated with increases in reported symptoms of asthma and risk of severe asthma symptoms in children aged 6 to 7 years, according to analysis of data from the multicentre, multicountry, cross-sectional International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC).

The study also found an association between use of paracetamol in childhood and an increased risk of symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in childhood, said principal investigator Richard Beasley, MD, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand.

The increased international use of paracetamol over the last 40 years occurred contemporaneously with an increased prevalence of asthma, Dr. Beasley said during a presentation on October 7 at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) 18th Annual Congress.

“[This study] was based on a hypothesis that was raised 10 years ago, where it was proposed that the switch from aspirin to paracetamol in childhood may have contributed to the increase in asthma prevalence that was noted in many countries in the 1980s,” he said.

Therefore, Dr. Beasley and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the association between paracetamol use in infancy and self-reported symptoms of asthma in children aged 6 to 7 years participating in the ISAAC program, which was formed in 1991 to facilitate research into asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema.

Data were obtained from 2 groups (children aged 6 to 7 and 13 to 14) from random samples of schools in defined geographical areas worldwide. Samples were collected using 2 simple standardised questionnaires that were completed by the children’s parents or guardians.

The prevalence questionnaire obtained data regarding symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in these children, while the environmental questionnaire obtained data on a wide range of putative protective and risk factors for asthma and allergic disorders, including paracetamol use for fever in the first year of life.

A total of 194,555 children from 69 centres in 29 countries were included in the analysis, with the multivariate analysis based on 105,041 of these children with complete covariance data.

This multivariate analysis of the associations with paracetamol use showed significant odds ratios (ORs) as follows: asthma, 1.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36-1.56); rhinoconjunctivitis, 1.48 (95% CI, 1.38-1.60); and eczema, 1.35 (95% CI, 1.26-1.45).

When severe asthma symptoms were defined as wheezing causing sleep disturbance or limiting speech, or 4 or more attacks of wheezing in the past 12 months, a similar significant association was seen at the multivariate level for the use of paracetamol (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.30-1.58).

Dr. Beasley noted, “While paracetamol has been shown to be safer than the alternatives and is the recommended treatment … what we found in this study was that there was a very widespread use of paracetamol beyond its indication for relief of high fever.”

Indeed, as he stressed, “What we need now is randomised controlled trials to really sort this out properly, and from these trials, there will be the basis for making firm guidelines in terms of management.”

The study was published in The Lancet in September 2008 (Beasley R et al. 2008;372:1039-1048).

Audit: Some Mo. children got vaccines with mercury

Oct 14, 2008

Some infants, toddlers and pregnant women may have received influenza immunizations containing mercury last year in violation of a new Missouri law requiring mercury-free vaccines, a state audit says.

 

The audit cites the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for doing a poor job of publicizing the law, which took effect in April 2007.

The department didn’t undertake any widespread publicity until after the law had kicked in, which was after many medical providers already had ordered their vaccines for the 2007-2008 winter flu season.

But the audit said the health department received complaints from about 100 medical providers during the 2007-2008 flu season asking why they had not been notified about the law.

The department also received about 10 calls from medical providers who said they had already purchased flu vaccines containing mercury before they became aware of the law and planned to continue administering the vaccines to young children and pregnant women, the audit said.

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Single Dose M M R Vaccines

 

…In the New York area, I’m hearing, the rubella component is on backorder at many pediatricians’ offices and in neighboring pharmacies known previously to carry it. This comes at a time when schools are asking for forms proving students are up to date with their vaccinations. This creates quite a conundrum.

Parents are now facing the possibility of having to give their child the combined shot they worked to avoid, on top of the two individual dose shots they’ve already administered, in order to be up to date. Needless to say they’re not pleased. Which might be why rumors are running rampant that the (big bad!) pharmaceutical companies are purposely not releasing individual doses as a way to combat demand for them. It’s also, parents surmise, a way to counteract concern over the triple dose vaccine. 

… But when a nurse friend told me her Merck rep said the single doses soon won’t be produced any longer, hence the current backlog in the rubella doses, I felt compelled to contact Merck & Co myself to set the record straight.

Here’s the response I got from Nalini Saligram 
Merck’s Director, Global Communications re whether or not they’re discontinuing the single dose shots, thereby making it impossible for parents who want to split up the vaccines:

“As you know, our trivalent combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (M-M-R II vaccine) is widely recommended and widely used in the US. In the US, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and other policy makers recommend the use of combination M-M-R vaccine to help protect against all three diseases – measles, mumps and rubella. Merck has prioritized the production of M-M-R II, and is committed to meeting the medical need for vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella by providing M-M-R II in adequate supply to meet demand. M-M-R II has been administered to millions of infants  worldwide (over 500 million doses distributed to date)and has a well established safety and efficacy profile. We also make very limited quantities of the monovalent vaccines available in the US.”
As for the current rubella backlog, she says, “Because quantities are limited, there may be supply interruptions / unavailability of individual products from time to time. We do provide M-M-R II vaccine to meet the needs for vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella.”

This doesn’t speak to exactly how limited the quantities are, or if they’re more limited than they used to be. But apparently they have not been discontinued for now.

Source  10/2008

 

High court: Atlanta couple can sue over vaccination

An Atlanta couple’s lawsuit against vaccine manufacturers can go to trial on claims a childhood vaccine caused neurological damage to their young son, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In a landmark decision, the state high court unanimously ruled that Marcelo and Carolyn Ferrari’s lawsuit is not barred by the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act. The court upheld a prior decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which was the first appellate court in the nation to make such a ruling.

When the Ferraris’ 18-month-old son, Stefan, received his vaccines, he was a healthy verbal boy. Now 10, Stefan has not spoken since, according to court records.

A year after Stefan received his vaccines, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that thimerosal, a preservative used for multi-dose vaccine vials, be removed from childhood vaccines. The Ferraris filed suit, contending that the manufacturers should have made vaccines without the preservative before Stefan was vaccinated.

The companies argued that the 1986 vaccine act shields manufacturers from liability in civil lawsuits for damages caused by vaccines given after Oct. 1, 1988.

In Monday’s ruling, written by Justice George Carley, the state Supreme Court said the vaccine act “clearly does not preempt all design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers.”

Instead, it provides “that a vaccine manufacturer cannot be held liable for defective design if it is determined, on a case-by-case basis, that the injurious side effects of the particular vaccine were unavoidable,” the ruling said.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution   October 06, 2008

AND…

Georgia family challenges federal vaccine law

 

Stefan Ferrari got his required vaccines before he was 18 months old. At the time, his parents said, he was a healthy, verbal boy.

But after his last round of booster shots, Stefan stopped speaking and, now 10 years old, he has not spoken since.

vaccines caused neurological damage to their young son. On Tuesday, the family’s lawyer asked the Georgia Supreme Court to let the case against two vaccine manufacturers, Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline, go forward.

Lawyer Lanny Bridgers told the court it was bad timing when Stefan received his last shots. A year later, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that thimerosal, a preservative used for multi-dose vaccine vials, be removed from childhood vaccines. The Ferraris contend that manufacturers should have made vaccines without thimerosal before Stefan was vaccinated.

But a lawyer arguing on behalf of the manufacturers told the state high court that the suit is barred by the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act.

The law says no vaccine maker shall be held liable in a civil action for damages arising from an injury or death caused by vaccines given after Oct. 1, 1988.

The exceptions are if the vaccine was improperly prepared or contained improper directions or warnings. Neither of these were involved in Stefan’s case, Daniel Thomasch, a lawyer for the manufacturers, told the court.

“It was the clear intent of Congress to pre-empt precisely the claims that are at issue here,” he argued.

Congress passed the law after hundreds of lawsuits were filed against vaccine manufacturers. The litigation increased insurance costs, drove out some manufacturers and threatened the continued production of some vaccines, even though the lawsuits were largely unsuccessful, Thomasch said.

“It has been a remarkably successful program,” he said of the 1986 law. “This wasn’t a rescue of the industry. It was an important step to make sure vaccines remained available in the United States.”

Seven of eight courts to consider challenges to the 1986 act have ruled in favor of the manufacturers. Last year, the Georgia Court of Appeals became the first court in the nation to rule the act did not pre-empt state law allowing such lawsuits. The manufacturers are appealing that decision to the state Supreme Court.

Bridgers, the Ferraris’ lawyer, told the justices that courts should review vaccine challenges on a case-by-case basis, not bar them completely. Otherwise, complaints must be brought in Washington before the U.S. Court of Claims where there are restrictions on the amount of awards, he said.

“Did Congress really intend to create an opt-out provision that allows the child to be thrown out of court?” Bridgers asked the justices. “I think not.”

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  05/20/08

**********************************

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 WAS one the worst things that could have happened to our children in this country. If it wasn’t for NCVIA, our nations children would have better protection instead of vaccine manufacturers hiding under the act and acting like they have no accountability! It’s been 20 years too long and it’s time as a country we stand up and hold them accountable!

Everyone should get a copy of the Senate hearing S.827 and read it cover to cover. It’s free to all U.S. citizens. You’ll learn why we have NCVIA  it, how it came about, and who the key players were. If you don’t want to read that, then read A Stolen Life.  What Marge Grant wrote in her book can also be found in the Senate hearing, so it is officially on record.

FDA Will Rewrite Rules For Marketing for Children

The Food and Drug Administration will rewrite decades-old federal regulations governing how over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are marketed to children amid concerns over whether the products are safe and effective.

 

The FDA is revisiting marketing rules.

As part of that effort the agency held a daylong hearing Thursday to solicit views about how the rules should be changed. While the effort is expected to take years, the end result could be a tougher regulatory environment for many over-the-counter cold and cough products — such as requiring drug makers to seek approval for their products in a manner similar to that for prescription drugs.

An estimated 95 million packages of children’s over-the-counter cold and cough medicines are sold each year in the U.S. under a range of brand names, including Johnson & Johnson‘s Tylenol Plus Cold, Novartis AG’s Triaminic and Wyeth’s Robitussin, according to industry estimates.

John Jenkins, the FDA’s office of new drugs director, said the system that currently governs over-the-counter cold and cough products was really designed to grandfather the over-the-counter medicines that were on the market in the 1960s. The system allowed certain active ingredients (such as those in decongestants) to be legally marketed without obtaining prior FDA approval for each individual product. The studies used to establish the safety of those ingredients were mostly done in adults; current dosing recommendations for kids are simply reduced from adult doses.

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Officials suspended for ‘detecting polio cases’

October 05, 2008
By Amer Malik

LAHORE

THE fate of 117 School Health and Nutrition Supervisors, Sargodha district, hangs in the balance as Health Department suspended them after one year of their service on basis of not filling recruitment rules.

However, the affected officials alleged that they had been penalised for detecting polio cases during their health and nutrition campaign in schools in Sargodha district. The issue has raised warning that polio cases in Punjab may have been under-reported to hide failure to control the alarming spread of polio virus in Punjab this year….

They further said that they had been made a scapegoat for detecting some polio cases in schools in Sargodha, which caused their own suspension. “The District Health Department, Sargodha, had warned us against making polio cases public, which ultimately became reason of their suspension,” they added.

The medical experts and officials of Health Department that Punjab’s health authorities were facing a challenge to control the spread of polio virus, which had emerged like an epidemic in different districts of Punjab during this year. Presently, there are 16 reported polio cases in Punjab out of total of 65 cases across Pakistan. Out of total of 65 polio cases, 50 cases are of P-I strain of polio and 15 cases of P-III strain of polio virus. All 16 cases in Punjab are detected as attacked with P-I strain of polio virus.

However, medical experts and officials of Health Department said there might have been many more cases of polio as against moderately reported 16 cases in Punjab, as reporting of greater number of polio cases reflected failure of Health Department’s anti-polio drives through low coverage of immunization of each and every child below five years of age or raised questions about the substandard or expired vaccines being used during the vaccination campaigns under Expanded Programme of Immunization or special three-day anti-polio campaigns under National Immunization Days (NIDs). “It has prompted health authorities to under-report polio cases to conceal their own failure to control the spread of crippling polio disease among the children in the province,” they added….

More

And…

Anti-U.S. views fuel polio growth in Pakistan  

Ayesha Akram-Nasir, Chronicle Foreign Service-October 5, 2008

 

To date, Farah is the lone case of polio in this city of 10 million inhabitants. But health officials fear the polio virus is re-emerging across Pakistan. It is especially serious, they say, in the lawless tribal North West Frontier Province along the border with Afghanistan where the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban rule and many families have refused vaccinations on religious grounds…

In 2007, the World Health Organization recorded 32 cases of polio in Pakistan, up from 28 in 2005. Between January and August, 31 more cases have been recorded, with one-third in the tribal areas.

Since a door-to-door immunization program began in 2001, tens of millions of children have been vaccinated or given polio drops, according to health authorities. But in tribal areas, radical Islamic clerics such as Maulana Fazlullah have convinced residents that U.S.-manufactured polio drops are designed to sterilize Pakistanis and reduce the Muslim population.

Health authorities say polio vaccines used in Pakistan are produced in WHO-accredited laboratories not only in the United States but in Japan, Belgium and India. Pakistan has no such laboratory.

Kahn says recent air strikes in tribal areas have also contributed to residents refusing to allow vaccinations for their children. Since Aug. 13, there have been at least seven reported U.S. missile strikes, as well as a ground force operation, in tribal territories.

“Due to the security situation in these areas there is a lot of resentment against America,” said Kahn. “The perception that this vaccine is a U.S. product holds strong in these areas, leading to refusals” to accept vaccinations.

Khan also noted that Fazlullah’s sermons have stressed that those who become crippled or die from polio are martyrs. The vaccine is considered haram, or that which is forbidden for Muslims.

“There are other diseases also – like hepatitis, typhoid, etc. Why is everyone concentrating on polio?” asked Kahn. “See, this is an American conspiracy.”…

Khilji says that aside from conspiracy theories, religious beliefs can also play a role in keeping children from being vaccinated. “Some parents say it’s un-Islamic to vaccinate their children because it’s akin to tampering with the will of Allah,” said Wahaeed Khan, a former EPI official…

More

 

I think their views and feelings are justified. Who is to say vaccines aren’t contaminated? In fact, we know right here in the U.S. and Canada it happens. Air strikes? What type of toxins and pollutants are being distributed in their region which could lead to higher polio cases?  Religious beliefs are always valid and should be upheld.

Graphic Timelines

 

 

Source

What TIME Forgot to Mention

Nine Points Left Out  By TIME   article by Louise Habakus:

 
1.Edward Jenner’s smallpox discovery and his vaccine experiments were an unequivocal disaster. If you research the history, you will discover that many people died and came down with terrible diseases such as syphilis because the shots were widely contaminated. Then as today, viruses must be grown on animal or human tissue and viral cross-contamination, cross-species transference, mutation and replication are very real issues (i.e., cross-contamination with other viruses living in the tissue that we didn’t know were there) is a very real concern.

 

2.The article is based on this concept of herd immunity, that is, the belief that a certain very high threshold of the population must be vaccinated or the disease(s) will return. This is assumed but has never been proven. Disease outbreaks occur in schools and other communities where 99%+ of the population has been vaccinated (New England Journal of Medicine, 3/87). Vaccine makers disclose that it is possible to get the disease from the vaccine. While the press and the government like to blame outbreaks on the unvaccinated, It is not possible to precisely prove this as both unvaccinated and vaccinated contract the disease. Disease transmission can occur through breast milk and through “viral shedding” from the nose and mouth of the recently vaccinated.

 

3.Vaccination is commonly credited with the eradication of terrible diseases. However, if you trace worldwide disease death rate trajectories over the past 100-150 years, you will see dramatic and precipitous declines over the entire period before vaccination was even introduced. Before historical revisionism, these gains were originally attributed to significant improvements in sanitation and hygiene (i.e., we no longer have raw sewage running in the streets).

 

4.If there is so much controversy about vaccination and if the government is truly very concerned about the consequence if parents are losing confidence and choose to opt out of all vaccination, then why don’t they do the unthinkable? Why don’t they actually conduct an independent, controlled, double-blind, peer-reviewed study on vaccination? The CDC claims that this would be unethical to deliberately withhold vaccination to children and put them at risk. However, we all know that millions of children are not vaccinated (by Time magazine’s own admission, 2-3% of all children) and parents of these children would gladly and gratefully accept the opportunity to participate in this study and to prove that they are indeed responsible and not the societal parasites riding on the good graces of vaccinating parents.

 

5.At its heart, science is about observation. That government scientists are willing to so readily dismiss the first-hand observations of tens of thousands of parents who swear that they lost their children to autism just days and weeks after inoculations is irresponsible (and I am being kind). I am shocked that Time magazine did not reference Dr. Bernadine Healy’s TV interview on 5/12/08 where she makes a break with her Institute of Medicine (IOM) colleagues and goes on record to say that we must study this further, we must understand what is happening with susceptible groups of children and she chides her colleagues by saying that we must never be afraid of what the truth will show. Dr. Healy is a Harvard-educated physician who did her residency at Johns Hopkins and is former head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a current member of the IOM. Her credentials are impeccable.

 

6.There are unvaccinated populations in this country with significantly lower rates of asthma, diabetes and autism. Former UPI reporter Dan Olmsted investigated the Amish and Chicago’s Homefirst pediatric practice. Details can be found at www.ageofautism.com Why are these studies being ignored? CDC’s Dr. Gerberding claims that there’s something special genetically about the Amish that they don’t get autism. How about the 15,000 Homefirst children who are Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Black?

 

7.The research studies that the government uses to disprove a link between vaccination and autism are flawed. I urge all parents to read the full studies and the critiques before they are comforted by and choose to parrot the conclusions. All of these government studies are epidemiological. Scientists know that epidemiology is used to identify variables which may be associated with disease incidence in populations; however, epidemiology is never used to prove causation. Only a controlled study can prove or disprove causation.

 

8.Time ends its article by saying “such a strategy could reveal new avenues of research…” The government will inspire confidence by funding the research that will settle the debate once and for all. Currently, government sponsored research funding by the NIH is $300 million for leukemia which affects 1 in 25,000 and $160 million for muscular dystrophy which affects 1 in 20,000 than the $15 million spent on autism which affects 1 in 150. That kind of dissonance does not communicate a sincere desire to engage in a respectful and forthcoming dialogue with parents. That government and health officials are taking a harder line with parents in the absence of definitive research is shockingly inappropriate; however well-intentioned, it is still an abuse of power.

 

9.Time chides parents for cherry-picking vaccines. I chide Time on cherry-picking case studies to find the lone non-vaccinating parent whose child contracted HiB. Again, this does not contribute to furthering the dialogue.

Is GlaxoSmithKline Behaving Badly in Argentina?

Parents Allege Pharmaceutical Giant Tricked Them With Experimental Vaccine

Protocol Compas is the name of the study designed to test the efficacy of Synflorix, GSK’s experimental pediatric pneumonia vaccine, which can also ward off the bacteria that causes meningitis and ear infections. Synflorix is still in the preapproval stage.

 

 

GSK compares Synflorix with Wyeth’s hugely successful Prevnar vaccine, which has proved effective in the United States. Besides Argentina, trials are also being conducted in Panama, Chile and Colombia.

 

In 1997, the United States conducted 5 percent of its clinical studies outside of the United States and Western Europe, according to a study conducted by Tufts Center for Drug Development. By 2007, that number had climbed to 29 percent.

Because of the multinational business of major drug companies, and how Americans fit in as U.S.-based employees and stockholders of GSK, as well as consumers of drugs that will be available in the U.S. market, there are global ramifications of clinical testing being conducted around the world.

The lion’s share of drug studies has gone to regions with “emerging markets”: Eastern Europe and Central Europe, Latin America, and south and Southeast Asia. In order for a region to be of use to a legitimate drug company, the country has to maintain a minimal level of infrastructure, says Mary Jo Lamberti, director of market research at the Boston-based Center Watch, a consulting firm that bills itself as the “Global Destination for Clinical Trials Information.”

Some parents say they didn’t know that their children were participating in a study at all. Others claim to have been coerced into participating — a suggestion rebutted by Ruttiman, who told ABCNews.com that participation is always voluntary and that parents “are informed, clearly and in a language they can understand, by experienced medical investigators.”

They are informed not only about the benefits, he says, such as round-the-clock access to medical care and vaccinations against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis, but about potential risks.

He adds that “the vaccines used in this study may cause adverse reactions unknown up to now. … As with any vaccine, unexpected adverse events can arise, including allergic reactions.”

Trading participation in a medical trial for health care has become the standard operating procedure for drug companies and/or their medical contractors, according to Shah. Some see it as win-win, but Shah views the trade as nearly as coercive as the dramatic threat Ester alleges she received.

“The argument I make is that the drug companies are going [abroad] because people have less access to health care,” said Shah. “So they offer incentives and the choice is, ‘participate in the trial or your children won’t get health care.’ That’s not a choice. Being in an experiment is not the same as standard care. In an experiment [the drug] might work, you might get a placebo or it might be worse than nothing. They might suffer some terrible unforeseen consequence.”

It’s impossible to say whether the 12 babies’ deaths are due to the vaccine or not, because half of the [total number of] children were given a placebo,” the pediatrician told ABCNews.com through a translator. “But the way the study has been conducted is reprehensible.”

A large part of the problem lies in the consent form, says Marchese. The language in the 12-page document is so convoluted, she charges, that even she had to read it more than once to fully grasp its meaning. Another problem is how subjects say they were recruited, Marchese says.

Ovejero, who works as a part-time disc jockey, alleges the couple was misled by the “agente saniterio,” a kind of nurse’s aide, who told them about the study. “She did not say it was a test. She said it was a vaccine for his lungs that would keep him from getting worse.”

The Nigerian state of Kano is one well-publicized example. In 2004, Kano’s government refused to take part in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization out of fears that the immunizations constituted a plot to reduce the country’s Muslim population.

According to The Associated Press, the boycott was initiated after Pfizer faced accusations made by families and human rights groups of putting about 200 children at risk during what they claimed was a poorly managed meningitis study 11 years ago.

Eleven children died, while others suffered brain damage, according to the Nigerian government, which this summer filed suit against the London- and Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company. The case is still pending.

 

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Politics, Money and Obama

Politics & Money: Pharma Still Bets On Obama

 

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Obama also doesn’t believe in selective vaccinations. That tells me he doesn’t believe in a parents’ right to choose what is best for their children..hmm..

McCain vs Romney on Pharma Companies

More than half of US drug safety studies never see the light of day

Only 43% of the evidence of safety and efficacy that the US Food and Drug Administration uses to approve drugs is published in scientific journals. The authors of the survey say this amounts to “scientific misconduct”

The results of more than half of all clinical trials that demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of new drugs are not published within five years of the drug going on the market, according to an analysis of 90 drugs approved by US regulators between 1998 and 2000.

The researchers, who traced the publication or otherwise of 909 separate clinical trials in the scientific literature, wrote that the failure of drug companies to publish the evidence relating to new medicines amounted to “scientific misconduct”. They said it “harms the public good” by preventing informed decisions by doctors and patients about new medicines and by hampering future scientific work.

The team also found evidence for a “publication bias”. Trials with statistically significant results were more likely to be published than those with non-significant results, as were those with larger sample sizes.

More

Get a Deep Insight into the World Human Vaccines Market

World Human Vaccines Market

• This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Human Vaccines in Millions of US$.
• The major product segments analyzed are Prophylactic Vaccines (Pediatric Prophylactic Vaccines, & Adult Prophylactic Vaccines), and Therapeutic Vaccines.
• The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Latin America.
• Annual forecasts are provided for each region for the period of 2001 through 2015. A ten-year historic analysis is also provided for these markets with annual market analytics.
• The report profiles 164 companies
• Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are mostly extracted from URL research and reported select online sources.

see also: http://www.reportlinker.com/p092575/World-Human-Vaccines-Market.html

CDC-sponsored MMR study supports Wakefield’s findings

CDC-sponsored MMR study supports Wakefield’s findings

By F. Edward Yazbak MD, FAAP

The CDC tried again and …failed again

But this time, it validated Andrew Wakefield’s findings

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The following critique was to be published on the Web Site of the Vaccine Autoimmune Project on Monday September 15, 2008. Unfortunately the VAP web site was the target of malicious hacking. I am grateful to John and Jackie Fletcher for their invitation to feature it on JABS

HPV mandatory for Immigrants-Oh MY!

Genetically engineered Merck Cancer Vaccine Made Mandatory For Immigrants

Immigrants seeking permanent legal residency in the U.S. are now mandated to take an expensive and controversial vaccine that has been linked with thousands of serious complaints and several deaths.

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine — known as Gardasil — is one of five the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently added to the required list, reports Fox 8 News.

A press release from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency confirms that the requirements for the vaccine went into effect on July 1, 2008.

More on this story..

The Ties that Bind

The Ties Between Pharma & Academic Med Centers

 Want to know how much a drugmaker paid a doctor at an academic medical center? How about the amount of samples dropped off? Or the access given sales reps? Well, The Institute on Medicine as a Profession, or IMAP, has launched what it calls the first database of its kind to let everyone – you and me – review and compare conflict of interest policies among the nation’s 125 academic medical centers.

The data base will be a “one-stop resource to help users identify what academic institutions are doing or not doing to limit the influence of drug and device makers on medical practice and will offer users a toolkit on how to implement strong policies,” according to a statement. Take a look.

The site will focus on 12 key areas that some AMC’s are supposedly examining to regulate relationships with drug and device makers – gifts; meals; drug representative access; samples; purchasing committees; continuing medical education; consulting and honoraria; scholarships and travel; ghostwriting; speakers’ bureaus; enforcement; and implementation.

An analysis in last week’s Journal of the American Medical Association found that AMCs are increasingly adopting COI policies without any backlash from faculty or industry. At least 25 AMCs have embraced policies to regulate industry relationships, and faculty are overwhelmingly supporting those efforts, according to the paper, which was written by two IMAP officials.

IMAP is not rating or ranking AMCs, but does provide examples of “best practices” that feature model policies. IMAP, based at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, formed the database under the auspices of the Prescription Project, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The site is also supported by a grant from the Attorney General Consumer and Prescriber Grant Program.

Conflict of Interest Policy Database

19 Year Old Sues His Own Parents For Vaccine Damage Leading To His Autism

A 19 year old boy is suing his parents for contributing to his Autism. The boy’s name has been kept confidential pending the outcome of the trial and a gag order has been put on everyone related to this court hearing, including the judge. We will refer to the boy as John Doe.

John filed suit on his parents for vaccinating him as a youth. John received the CDC recommended schedule of 62 doses of 17 different vaccinations before the age of 5 years old. He alleges his parents directly caused his illness by not practicing informed consent when they had him injected with multiple viruses, sometimes up to 10 shots at one time, in this landmark case.

The pharmaceutical companies who manufacture the vaccines are protected under the government laws as are the doctors from any liability relating to vaccine injury. The National Injury Compensation Program is now rejecting all cases of Autism although there are confirmed studies linking Autism to vaccinations. There isn’t enough money to pay all the victims. We will see more and more children left with no choice but to sue their parents for vaccine damage.

Okay, this story is fictional but doesn’t it make you think? What will our world be like in 20 more years when more and more children become autistic, ill and sick with autoimmune disorders? Will they end up having to sue their own parents because there is no other recourse? I mean, it’s the parents obligation to make informed decisions on the safety of vaccines. The parents who don’t make informed decisions regarding their children’s health should be held responsible. This includes researching vaccines and making sure they are safe enough to be injected in to their children in the first place.

We, as parents, need to stand up and say enough is enough. We should have the right to reject these vaccinations because we don’t feel they are safe! Do people not see we are slowly losing our freedoms for the so called greater good? Please google gunpoint medicine and see how many parents (and people in general) are being threatened with jail time and arrested, then FORCED to undergo medical treatments they object to. Don’t let this happend with vaccines. Don’t let us lose what exemptions we do have! We need a philosophical exemption in every single state for those who can’t morally claim a religious exemption. We need to protect the homeschooled (scape goats) rights to avoid being forced to inject vaccines not proven to work and full of neurotoxins, aborted fetal tissues, and animal DNA, especially in those states with only a medical exemption.

We are allowing our government to make our children sick and KILL THEM with these vaccines. Those who allow their children to be injected with vaccines and never research or question the safety will only have themselves to blame. I apologize if the truth hurts.

Copyright ©Safer Shots 2008

Baby Bottles, Cans, and Bisphenol-A

Plastic Baby Bottles and Bisphenol-A

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/opinion/06sat4.html

What do you do when one arm of the government says everything is O.K. and another tells you to watch out? That is what is happening with bisphenol-A — a chemical used in many plastics and epoxy resins now found in baby bottles and liners for canned goods. The answer is a truism in every family rulebook — when in doubt, especially when it comes to children, err on the side of caution. That means it is a good idea to keep the young away from bisphenol-A, or BPA.

The Food and Drug Administration said last month that the small amounts of BPA that leach out of containers and into food or milk are not dangerous. Then this week, the National Toxicology Program, the federal agency for toxicological research, reported that their research shows “some concern” about the effects of BPA on the brain development and behavior of fetuses and young children.

A new study by the Yale School of Medicine is cause for even more concern. In tests on primates, researchers found that BPA “causes the loss of connections between brain cells” that could cause memory or learning problems and depression.

Scientists from the toxicology offer this advice:

¶ Watch for the numeral 7 on the bottom of plastic containers. That often means they contain BPA.

¶ Don’t microwave plastic food containers made with BPA. Better to use glass or porcelain.

¶ Watch out for canned foods for children.

¶ Search for baby bottles and other baby products that are BPA-free.

More

More Evidence That BPA Found in Clear Plastics Impairs Brain Function

Yale School of Medicine

Published: September 3, 2008

New Haven, Conn. — Yale School of Medicine researchers reported today that the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), a building block for polycarbonate plastics found in common household items, causes the loss of connections between brain cells. This synaptic loss may cause memory/learning impairments and depression, according to study results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Unlike previous studies that looked at the effect of BPA on rodents, the team examined the effects in a primate model. They also used lower levels of the chemical than in past studies. “Our goal was to more closely mimic the slow and continuous conditions under which humans would normally be exposed to BPA,” said study author Csaba Leranth, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and in Neurobiology at Yale. “As a result, this study is more indicative than past research of how BPA may actually affect humans.”

Over a 28-day period, Leranth and his team gave each primate 50 micrograms/kg of BPA per day, adjusted for body weight, the amount considered safe for human consumption by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The team also administered estradiol, the major form of hormonal estrogen that modulates nerve cell connections in the brain. Best known as one of the principal hormone products of the ovary, estrogen has also been shown in past studies to be synthesized in the brain, where it aids the development and function of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

The team then used an electron microscope to count nerve cell connections in the brain. They found that BPA inhibits creation of the synaptic connections in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, areas of the brain involved with regulation of mood and formation of memory.

 “Our primate model indicates that BPA could negatively affect brain function in humans,” said study co-author Tibor Hajszan, M.D., associate research scientist in Yale Ob/Gyn. “Based on these new findings, we think the EPA may wish to consider lowering its ‘safe daily limit’ for human BPA consumption.”

Hajszan said that although daily exposure of an average person to BPA usually does not reach the level that was applied in this study, human exposure to BPA is not limited to a single month, but rather is continuous over a lifetime. “The negative effect of BPA may also be amplified when estradiol levels are naturally lower than in healthy adults. That is why exposure to BPA may particularly be risky in the case of babies and the elderly.”

Other authors on the study included Klara Szigeti-Buck, Jeremy Bober and Neil J. MacLusky.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and by a National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Award.

Citation: PNAS Online Early Edition, 10.1073/pnas.0806139105 (September 2, 2008)

Soy Affects Brain and Reproductive Development

Two hormone-like compounds linked to the consumption of soy-based foods can cause irreversible changes in the structure of the brain, resulting in early-onset puberty and symptoms of advanced menopause in research animals, according to a new study by researchers at North Carolina State University. The study is a breakthrough in determining how these compounds can cause reproductive health problems, as well as in providing a key building block for how to treat these problems. 

The study is the first to show that the actual physical organization of a region of the brain that is important for female reproduction can be significantly altered by exposure to phytoestrogens – or plant-produced chemicals that mimic hormones – during development. Specifically, the study finds that the compounds alter the sex-specific organization of the hypothalamus – a brain region that is essential to the regulation of puberty and ovulation. The study also shows that the phytoestrogens could cause long-term effects on the female reproductive system…

Patisaul says this finding is extremely important because, while the changes in brain structure cannot be reversed, “if you understand what is broken, you may be able to treat it.” Patisaul says she is in the process of evaluating the effects of these compounds on the ovaries themselves.

Patisaul says that this study is also “a step towards ascertaining the effects of phytoestrogens on developing fetuses and newborns.” Patisaul adds that these phytoestrogenic compounds cross the placental barrier in humans and that, while many people are concerned about the effects of man-made compounds on human health, it is important to note that some naturally occurring substances can have similar effects.

In the study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Neurotoxicology, the researchers exposed newborn rats to physiologically relevant doses of the phytoestrogens genistein and equol, and then looked at reproductive health markers in the rats throughout their adulthood. The neonatal stage of development in rats is comparable to the latter stages of pregnancy for humans, Patisaul says. Genistein is a phytoestrogen that is found in various plants, including soybeans and soy-based foods. Equol is a hormone-like compound that is formed when bacteria found in the digestive system metabolize another phytoestrogen. However, only approximately a third of humans have the necessary bacteria to produce equol.

The study shows that both genistein and equol result in the early disruption of the rats’ estrus cycle – which would be corollary to early onset of menopause in a human. The study also showed that genistein caused the early onset of puberty. The disruption of the estrus cycle could stem from problems with the brain or the ovaries, so the researchers decided to determine if the compounds had any effect on brain development or function.

Patisaul explains that the brains of both female rats and female humans have a region that regulates ovulation. “That part of the brain,” Patisaul says, “is organized by hormones during development – which is the neonatal stage for rats and during gestation for humans.” Patisaul says the new study shows that the female brain is “critically sensitive” to genistein and equol during this crucial stage of development – and that this may indicate that the brain is also especially sensitive during this period to all phytoestrogens and possibly other man-made chemicals, such as bisphenol-A.

The study’s abstract follows.

“Disrupted female reproductive physiology following neonatal exposure to phytoestrogens or estrogen specific ligands is associated with decreased GnRH activation and kisspeptin fiber density in the hypothalamus”

Authors: Dr. Heather B. Patisaul, Heather L. Bateman, North Carolina State University

Published: July 2008, online by Neurotoxicology

Abstract: It is well established that estrogen administration during neonatal development can advance pubertal onset and prevent the maintenance of regular estrous cycles in female rats. This treatment paradigm also eliminates the preovulatory rise of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). It remains unclear, however, through which of the two primary forms of the estrogen receptor (ERα or ERβ) this effect is mediated. It is also unclear whether endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) can produce similar effects. Here we compared the effect of neonatal exposure to estradiol benzoate (EB), the ERα specific agonist 1,3,5-tris(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-4-propyl-1H-pyrazole (PPT), the ERβ specific agonist diarylpropionitrile (DPN) and the naturally occurring EDCs genistein (GEN) and equol (EQ) on pubertal onset, estrous cyclicity, GnRH activation, and kisspeptin content in the anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) and arcuate (ARC) nuclei. Vaginal opening was significantly advanced by EB and GEN. By ten weeks postpuberty, irregular estrous cycles were observed in all groups except the control group. GnRH activation, as measured by the percentage of immunopositive GnRH neurons that were also immunopositive for Fos, was significantly lower in all treatment groups except the DPN group compared to the control group. GnRH activation was absent in the PPT group. These data suggest that neonatal exposure to EDCs can suppress GnRH activity in adulthood, and that ERα plays a pivotal role in this process. Kisspeptins (KISS) have recently been characterized to be potent stimulators of GnRH secretion. Therefore we quantified the density of KISS immunolabeled fibers in the AVPV and ARC. In the AVPV, KISS fiber density was significantly lower in the EB and GEN groups compared to the control group but only in the EB and PPT groups in the ARC. The data suggest that decreased stimulation of GnRH neurons by KISS could be a mechanism by which EDCs can impair female reproductive function.

Life Science News