Autism and vaccines: Is there a link?

cnn.com ^ | Tuesday, December 10, 2002 Posted: 3:22 PM EST

[krodriguesdc]

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, who chairs the committee, also has a personal stake in the inquiry: He's the grandfather of a 5-year-old who was diagnosed with autism three years ago. Burton joined CNN's Leon Harris and childhood immunization expert Dr. Sharon Humiston, also the mother of an autistic child, to discuss the issue.

[LilithUnfair]

Thanks for posting this. Science says this. Science says that. There is a REASON for my doctor telling me to avoid fish high in mercury content while pregnant. The fact is, two sides are saying opposite things and as usual some of us get stuck not certain what decisions to make. Btw, those of you that are unconcerned about this, did you defy your parents and bite the thermometer when you were kids?

Lil

[krodriguesdc]

Meningitis vaccines at MSU may not work

here's the link...

December 04, 2002 EAST LANSING (AP) - Michigan State University is sending letters to 2,300 students warning that the manufacturer of a meningitis vaccine they received says the inoculations may not work.

The producer of the adult version of the vaccine said it may not ward off a strain found in certain parts of Africa or in laboratories which study the disease, the Lansing State Journal reported yesterday.

Michigan State has Study Abroad programs in Ghana and Senegal, where people could be at risk for meningitis.

But university officials said most students aren't at risk, and the school was sending the letters as a safeguard.

"The reality is there aren't a large number of students who travel to sub-Saharan Africa," said Kathi Braunlich, communications and planning coordinator at Michigan State's Olin Health Center.

"But we want people to be well-informed." The faulty vaccines date to January 2001, and are produced by Aventis Pasteur in Bridgewater, N.J.

Company spokesman Len Lavenda said the company will pay for revaccinations for people who are at risk. He would not say how much of the vaccine may not work.

He said in some cases the vaccine might not protect against Group A of the meningococcus bacteria, found in a strip of African countries known as the "meningitis belt."

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord and brain. The illness affects nearly 3,000 Americans a year, although Aventis said there has been only one death involving the Group A strain in the past decade.

"This is not a safety issue, and no one needs to be concerned about it," Lavenda said.

The Ingham County Health Department is sending about 50 letters to people who may have received the faulty vaccine. Shiawassee County issued a notice Monday offering free revaccinations to people in affected groups.

Meningitis is an issue on college campuses because students living in close quarters are more likely to become sick. It's spread through intimate or household exposure, such as kissing or sharing eating utensils.

It has infected six Michigan State students in the past five years. Three died.

[FormerLurker]

Here's an interesting link on Vaccine Safety.

Autism & Vaccines: A New Look At An Old Story

[krodriguesdc]

But university officials said most students aren't at risk, and the school was sending the letters as a safeguard.

if most of the students are not at risk why did they get the vaccine in the first place?

[TomB]

I can't help but notice that, try as they might, they STILL can't explain away the virtual elimination of Hib disease.

[FormerLurker]

One interesting factor in the claims made about the HiB vaccine is that it was declining BEFORE introduction of the vaccine for infants in 1992. It was available to children since 1986, but the incidence for ALL ages declined at the same exact rate!

From INVASIVE HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE SEROTYPE B SURVEILLANCE IN ONTARIO - DOCUMENTING THE PROGRESSION TOWARDS ELIMINATION

In fact, in 1998, ONLY those less that 5 years of age contracted the disease. Of 26 cases, 17 of the children were up to date with the HiB vaccinations for their age. From the above link:

Between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1998, 46 confirmed cases were reported in the province. Each year, the incidence has decreased. Thirteen confirmed cases were reported in 1994, 12 in 1995, eight in 1996, seven in 1997, and six in 1998. The incidence rate for 1998 was 0.06 cases per 100,000 population. Twenty-six (56.5%) of the 46 cases occurred in children <= 5 years of age. Of these cases, 14 had meningitis, seven had epiglottitis, and five had invasive infections in other sites. All but one case were old enough to have received at least one dose of Hib vaccine. Table 1 and Table 2 present the immunization status and history for these cases.

Table 1 Immunization status of invasive Hib disease cases Status Number of cases

Status		Number of cases
Not immunized	Too young	1
	Eligible age	5
Immunized	Not up to date for the age	3
	Up to date for age	17
Total		26

Table 2 Immunization history of Hib cases up to date for age Doses and vaccine received Number of cases

Doses and vaccine received	Number of cases
1 dose ProHIBIT®	3
1 dose HibTITERTM	5
2 doses HibTITERTM	0
3 doses HibTITERTM	5
1 dose Act-HIBTM	1
2 doses Act-HIBTM	0
3 doses Act-HIBTM	3
Total	17

[FormerLurker]

Some more interesting info on the HiB vaccine..

Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?

[Porterville]

Under this theory we should all have autism. Does this mean I am eligible for disability, or can I just sue McDonalds????

[Zviadist]

Great post!!! Thanks!

[aculeus]

Here'e the LINK for a new study from The Lancet, a British medical journal.

Their conclusion:

Interpretation: Administration of vaccines containing thiomersal does not seem to raise blood concentrations of mercury above safe values in infants. Ethylmercury seems to be eliminated from blood rapidly via the stools after parenteral administration of thiomersal in vaccines.

In other words no mercury in vaccinated babies.

[FormerLurker]

Ethylmercury seems to be eliminated from blood rapidly via the stools after parenteral administration of thiomersal in vaccines.

In other words no mercury in vaccinated babies.

Because SOME is eliminated doesn't mean that ALL of it is. A Canadian study shows levels in infants exceeding the EPA RfD (Reference Dose) of 6 µg/L.

From EXPOSURE TO THIMEROSAL IN VACCINES USED IN CANADIAN INFANT IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMS, WITH RESPECT TO RISK OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS:

One study examined blood mercury levels in infants vaccinated with thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine⁽³⁶⁾. Blood mercury increased from a baseline (prevaccination) level < 1 µg/L to 2.24 µg/L (standard deviation [SD] ± 0.58) and 7.36 µg/L (SD ± 4.99) for preterm and term infants respectively, within 48 to 72 hours after a single dose of vaccine. However, maternal hair mercury level (an indicator of in utero exposure) was not examined, and neurodevelopmental testing was not done, to evaluate the clinical significance of this increase in blood mercury. The toxicologic relevance of this is further complicated by uncertainty of the pharmacokinetics (e.g., rates of metabolism and excretion) of mercury in blood⁽²³⁾, and reports from other studies that maternal blood levels of 100 µg/L to 200 µg/L were not associated with detectable abnormalities in infants exposed in utero^(37,38).

Additionally, a newborn baby has MUCH less ability to detoxify heavy metals than an older child, and is more susceptable to auto-immune problems. A dysfunction where the metabolism that detoxifies heavy metals fails to do so has been found to be present in 99% of autistic children, and is obviously a factor in the disease..

You may want to refer to post 30 for more information.

[aculeus]

You may want to refer to post 30 for more information.

You may think that I would, but you would be wrong.

[tubebender]

and there's a growing body of evidence that it may be a part of the Alzheimer's problem we have.

That is the first time I have heard Alzheimers linked to mercury.

A few years a go there was a antiseptic called Mercurichrome, sp and merthiolate, sp that I don't see on store shelves any longer. Any connection here?

[krodriguesdc]

yeah they took it off the shelves because of toxicity issues!

interesting that the mandatory small pox vaccine is now one of choice - exactly how it should be so I think G2 made the right decision here for the populace...

some on this thread would've mandated everyone in The USA to get jabbed - or else!

[krodriguesdc]

if you watched CSPAN the other day you'd know that they took those levels at a time when the infant's body had eliminated the mercury - therefore no levels were shown - but if they had taken the levels at 24 hours post shot they would have seen the levels of mercury in the blood that cause toxic reactions and damage to the nervous system of the vaccinated...

sometimes you have to look at the parameters of a study to gauge it properly...

[Al B.]

sometimes you have to look at the parameters of a study to gauge it properly...

The problems with that study are too numerous to even make it worthy of discussion, starting with the fact that it doesn't even address the issue of whether thimerosal causes autism.

[krodriguesdc]

that study indicated that autism is not caused by mercury levels in the jabs but again they took blodd levels much later after the jab then they should have...

boy - if it is ever found that mercury in jabs and the jabs themselves are related to health problems in children - they have denied it so often - it should be easy to think about the lawsuits that will follow...

but maybe the Home Security provision that exempts the vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits will save the drug companies...

of course that could be challenged in court...

here we have the dems trying to make an issue out of it, though...

good ole dems always proving themselves to be the champions of the people :)

[Al B.]

that study indicated that autism is not caused by mercury levels in the jabs.....

I don't see how you can say that.

Notwithstanding the fact that the blood levels were taken from 3 to 28 days after the jabs, which in itself makes the study worthless:

1) N=40 in this study. The autism rate is N=1/150, N=1/250 or higher depending on who you listen to.

2) The issue of mercury reuptake rates into the brain were not even addressed.

There are other problems with this study, but these 2 issues make the study irrelevant to the question of whether thimerosal causes autism.

[bvw]

Researcher Haley's response says zinc greatly worsens the mercury toxicity. On a thread earlier this week I mentioned a story I heard about the Sudbury CA smelter region, that suggested zinc blocked metal toxicity. Now I am confused.

I do understand that the toxicity of mercury is very dependent on its chemcial compounding. That pure elemental mercury is safe, but that the chlorinated and methylated forms are toxic. Given that the mouth is a chemical plant designed to initiate the formidable chemical processes of digestion, I do wonder how well elemental mercury amalgams survive in the mouth in elemental form.

[krodriguesdc]

I agree with you totally - personally I think that time will show that vaccines do harm - lots of harm!

why has the AIDS rates in this country reduced without vaccines?

HMMM....

I agree with you Al B.