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Vaccination NewsLetter: Top Stories - posted March 1-7, 2004Vaccination NewsLetter: Top Stories - posted March 1-7, 2004 FREEDOM OF CHOICE IS NOT FREE Vaccination News, A Non-Profit Corporation All the News (includes Breaking News) - a running tab of everything posted on this website since October 29, 2003 Return to Vaccination News Home Page (for best results, right click to "open in new window") View past & current Scandals (columns by Sandy Gottstein aka Mintz) Subscribe to Scandals Search This Site using keywords click here to download Adobe Reader Picks of the week - added 3/11/04 The Newsletter is now linked to the new Hot Topics section here and to specific categories and sub-topics below Alternative treatments/prevention/nutrition/diet ►March 2004 -
Effectiveness of an Herbal Preparation Containing Echinacea, Propolis, and
Vitamin C in Preventing Respiratory Tract Infections in Children - A
Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Study - journal
article (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine) - "Conclusion A preventive effect of a product
containing echinacea, propolis, and vitamin C on the incidence of
respiratory tract infections was observed." ►February 26, 2004 - Iron eating bacteria - Novel bacteria could clean up heavy metal- and chlorine-contaminated environments - The Scientist via www.biomedcentral.com ►March 3, 2004 -
Alternative therapists to face new controls in government crackdown - The
Independent, UK - "Rogue practitioners of alternative medicine who try to
exploit patients will be driven out of business under plans announced by the
Government yesterday...One in five people uses alternative medicine regularly,
and there are more therapists than orthodox doctors but no control on standards
of training, ministers said." ►March 2, 2004 - Nutrition: For Babies, Going With the Grain (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times ►March 8, 2004 - Physician
looks at what keeps people slim - With a grant to study thin people, an
endocrinologist seeks an answer to why most Americans are overweight. -
www.ama-assn.org ►March 2, 2004 - Regulations on practice of herbal medicine - The Scotsman ►March 1, 2004 -
Gluten
may trigger schizophrenia - More evidence of that wheat and gluten
sensitivity may be a factor in the development of schizophrenia - Times Online,
UK ►February 29, 2004 -
NHS
scornful of Charles on alternative medicines -
www.independent.co.uk - "National
Health Service managers yesterday dismissed calls by Prince Charles for more
complementary medicines to be made freely available on the NHS, saying most of
them did not work...Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation,
the umbrella body for managers, said the NHS could use only those medicines that
had been proven effective, ruling out the majority of complementary therapies." ►February 28, 2004 - Netherlands to crack down on complementary medicine - journal article (BMJ) - "The Netherlands is considering tougher laws on practitioners of complementary medicine after government health inspectors who were investigating the death from breast cancer in 2001 of the actress and comedienne Sylvia Millecam severely criticised her treatment...The investigators found that alternative practitioners contradicted the diagnosis of breast cancer made by her doctors and offered her instead the prospect of a cure with 'unfounded methods of treatment.'" Comment: Would that unfounded allopathic methods of treatment and misdiagnoses were eyed with the same level of scrutiny. ►March 2, 2004 - Breastfeeding Lowers Blood Pressure - Circulation via Ivanhoe ►March 1, 2004 - Report: Standard Tests Not Enough for Baby Formula - Reuters via Yahoo! ►January 8, 2004 - Review in Advance - Isoflavones in Soy Infant Formula: A Review of Evidence for Endocrine and Other Activity in Infants - journal article (Annual Review of Nutrition) Big pharma - includes drug development, funding, FDA oversight, PR/advertising, and research conduct ►March 4, 2004 -
Group Seeks Ban of Anti-Cholesterol Drug - AP via Yahoo! ►March 4, 2004 - Animal instincts - Duluth-based Merial invents drugs, vaccines - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "Other companies have file cabinets. Merial has freezers...Make that deep-freeze freezers. Where else would you stash the creepiest infections known to the world of fur and feathers?..." ►February 28, 2004 - Genuine concern or corporate greed? - opinion - Broomfield Enterprise via The Daily Camera - "Does Senate Bill 139 represent genuine concern or corporate greed? Follow the money...SB 139 will set forth a statewide database of all Colorado's children. The system will be used to call parents and coerce them to have their children "fully" vaccinated. This means the child must have every single recommended vaccine...When I was a child I only had two immunizations: polio and smallpox. These shots were for serious diseases that affected large populations. I am truly grateful for advances in modern medicine that have eradicated deadly diseases. Today, though, Colorado's children are required to receive 29 vaccinations by the age of 4. The risk of children contracting some of these diseases is miniscule." ►February 21, 2004 - GlaxoSmithKline staff told not to publicise ineffectiveness of its drug - journal article (BMJ) ►March 2, 2004 -
U.N.: Drug
Producers Target Middle-Class - AP via Yahoo! ►March 8, 2004 - FDA
boosts efforts to find fake drugs - Electronic "track and trace" methods are
examined as a way to halt the growing problem of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. -
www.ama-assn.org ►March 2, 2004 - MedImmune Looks to Boost FluMist Sales - Company Hopes New Version Will Fix Problems Faced by Nasal Vaccine in Its Debut (requires registration) - The Washington Post ►March 1, 2004 - Troubled
FluMist Vaccine to Remain in Production - Status of Saatchi on $40 Million
Account Still Unknown - www.adage.com - "MedImmune
today said it will continue producing troubled nasal flu vaccine FluMist,
despite slumping sales and the possibility of a $75 million write-off if Wyeth
bows out of a co-marketing agreement on the drug." ►March 1, 2004 - MedImmune Plans to Keep FluMist Alive - MedImmune to Keep FluMist Alive Despite Dismal Sales, Lowering Outlook for the Coming Year - AP via ABC News ►March 1, 2004 - Injecting New Life into the Vaccine Industry - Harvard Business School - "Vaccines for preventable diseases save millions of lives every year, yet as an industry, the vaccine business suffers a host of ailments, the CEO of Merck & Co. contends...Speaking at a Harvard Business School forum recently, Raymond V. Gilmartin (HBS MBA '68) said the vaccine industry needs to overcome hurdles that include a feeble distribution infrastructure, a thin pipeline of competition to inspire more innovation, and a poor diet of incentives for the development of vaccines for which there is no natural market such as vaccinations against anthrax or ricin." ►February 29, 2004 - Dirty tricks drug firms use to get publicity - The Scotsman - "SHOCKING tactics including bribery, fabrication and plagiarism are being used by unscrupulous drug companies to get their research published in influential medical journals, according to a damning new report...Only a week after controversial research on the MMR vaccine was discredited by the journal which published it following a 'fatal conflict of interest', an influential committee has revealed the widespread use of underhand tactics by researchers." ►February 28, 2004 - Only 6% of drug advertising material is supported by evidence - journal article (BMJ) ►February 28, 2004 - Panel Urges Stricter Limits on Acne Drug - Reuters via Yahoo! News ►February 29, 2004 - Is Biotechnology Losing Its Nerve? (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "AS a founder of four biotechnology companies, Dennis A. Carson can practically write an encyclopedia entry on risk. After all, his first start-up, a gene therapy and vaccine company called Vical, still does not have a product on the market after 16 years and more than $100 million spent...But now Dr. Carson, who is also the director of the cancer center at the University of California at San Diego, is playing it safe, or at least safer. Rather than develop radical new technology or invent new medicines, his latest venture, Salmedix, plans to sell drugs licensed from other companies - drugs that are already on the market or that have at least gone through some clinical trials." Big Trouble - was Science, government, industry, medicine clearly 'run amok' - includes "errors" ►March 4, 2004 -
4 subjects
challenge Lilly over drug trial - Outside overseer says he found no
indication that suicide victim was depressed - Indianapolis Star via
www.indystar.com - "Four participants in
an Eli Lilly and Co. drug trial in California said the clinic's staff told them
that Traci Johnson, who committed suicide last month during the same study in
Indianapolis, had a history of depression...But Dr. Rafat Abonour, chairman of
the institutional review board that reviews all Lilly drug trials at Indiana
University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said his review of Johnson's records
showed no such history." ►March 8, 2004 - Safety
reporting now in Senate's hands (opinion) - Congress should finish
what it started and pass medical error reporting legislation this year. -
www.ama-assn.org ►February 29, 2004 - Nil by mouth - For thousands of Britons battling the debilitating effects of cancer, depression, even eczema, diet is crucial. They view the vitamins and minerals they take as vital in their fight against sickness. So why does the EU want to cut off their supply? Rose Shepherd makes the case for rescuing remedies - The Observer via The Guardian, UK - "In the 21st century we live under siege. There are concerns about pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, GM, mobile phones, microwaves, amalgam fillings, falling sperm counts, mad cows, MMR - even milk. Farmed salmon is a Trojan horse for carcinogens. Obesity and diabetes are on the march. There is a mass of documentation on all this. So what is the European Commission's big idea? 'Let's clamp down on vitamins and minerals.'...It would be funny if it weren't so tragic. While the EU has been busy drafting legislation, we seem to have been sleepwalking into a situation where chemists and health stores will be purged of hundreds of nutritional supplements." ►February 29, 2004 - Dismal payout record for radiation-induced illnesses - Government programs aimed at compensating cancer-stricken nuclear-era workers or survivors criticized for complexity and heavy denial rate - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
►February 27, 2004 -
HRT risks 'were known
years ago' - Women could have been told about the risks of taking hormone
replacement therapy years ago. - BBC ►February 29, 2004 - Health bosses deny MMR deception - Health bosses have denied university students' claims that they were tricked into having the MMR vaccine without their knowledge. - BBC - "A mass inoculation programme against mumps took place at the University of Kent at Canterbury earlier this month after six students caught the disease...Now some students have told a national newspaper they were not told they were being given the MMR vaccine." Conferences, workshops, seminars, courses ►Treating the
Biology of Autism: an approach to interventions for spectrum disorders (pdf)
- conference alert - ASA/OCC Biology of Autism
Treatments - April 3 & 4, 2004 in Pontiac, Michigan ►Success in Autism: Filling in the Gaps - This conference is designed to educate both parents and professionals in breaking through plateaus and helping individuals with autism reach their optimal potential by "filling in the gaps." Consistency is promoted between the school and the home environments. Valuable information is for individuals at all levels, and information given is functional. - Autism Resources - conference alert - March 20-21, 2004 in Rutgers University, New Brunswick NJ ►"Recent Advances in the Biology of Autism" - Bassett Healthcare / National Autism Association Teaching Day - conference alert - May 1, 2004 at Clark Medical Education Auditorium in Cooperstown, NY ►Bio-Terrorism Countermeasures – Requirements & Funding - King Publishing Group - conference alert - March 9-10, 2004 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC ►Ensuring the Safety and Security of the U.S. Medicine Supply - King Publishing Group - conference alert - April 13-14, 2004 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC ►Voyages In Autism: Behaviors and Advocacy (pdf) - conference alert - March 20, 2004 in San Pablo, CA - re: big pharma, research, vaccines *For most of the Wakefield "conflict of interest" articles posted on the site, click here (check periodically for updates) ►March 5, 2004 -
Companies
Facing Ethical Issue as Drugs Are Tested Overseas (requires registration or
subscription) - The New York Times - Comment: The failure to disclose the possible conflict of interest does not in and of itself mean that there was anything wrong with Wakefield's research. The research may or may not have been influenced by the alleged conflict. If there was as much attention being paid to those with clear conflict of interest re: the vaccine manufacturers as re: someone investigating the issue for a legal aid board, the furor over this might seem fair and reasonable. As it is, the furor appears to be more political than anything. ►February 13, 2004 - Fraud
spurs Cell paper retraction - Postdoc fabricated data, leaving his career in
tatters and embarrassing his boss - The Scientist via BioMed Central Comment: Wow. If that isn't a conflict of interest, I don't know what is. This article is chock-full of disturbing information. ►February 29, 2004 - MMR docs' links with drugs firms - Sunday Mercury via http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk - "Four leading Midland doctors who deemed the controversial MMR vaccine safe have links to the drug giants who make or supply the jab...Campaigners have called for the General Medical Council to investigate the senior Government advisors, who all hold scientific posts in the Midlands and sat on key committees which declared the vaccine safe." ►February 29, 2004 - Twisted conflicts - (letters) The Observer via The Guardian, UK - "It seems a scientist, such as Dr Andrew Wakefield (News and Leader, last week), who uncovers genuine concerns about the safety of a vaccine has to be 'squeaky clean'...In contrast, scientists who are vocal in support of the vaccine, and are responsible for checking its safety, are allowed to receive research funding from the company that produces it and to hold shares in the company, or act as consultants." (sent by Dr Milton Wainwright, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield) ►February 29, 2004 - Doctor demands apology for MMR claims in Lancet - Telegraph, UK - "Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who first raised fears of a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, has hired a libel lawyer to demand an apology from The Lancet after claiming that the medical journal has cast doubt on his honesty...Dr Wakefield's decision to enlist the support of Carter-Ruck, the London law firm that specialises in defamation suits, follows the denunciation of his work last week by The Lancet." ►February 29, 2004 - Dirty tricks drug firms use to get publicity - The Scotsman - "SHOCKING tactics including bribery, fabrication and plagiarism are being used by unscrupulous drug companies to get their research published in influential medical journals, according to a damning new report...Only a week after controversial research on the MMR vaccine was discredited by the journal which published it following a 'fatal conflict of interest', an influential committee has revealed the widespread use of underhand tactics by researchers." ►February 29, 2004 - Autism is a mystery, not a medical conspiracy - opinion - The Scotsman - "In contrast to Wakefield, I intend to declare an interest at the outset. My son Josh is autistic. Like most children, he was given the MMR vaccine at around 18 months. Shortly afterwards, he began exhibiting the first signs of what we now identify as autistic behaviour. The link between these two events is tempting, but, for reasons of sanity, I have resisted it...In the vast majority of cases, autism manifests itself at around two years, or, in other words, just after the MMR is administered. This coincidence inspired Wakefield’s study. In 1998, his team reviewed reports of children with bowel disease and autistic symptoms. Their research led them to conclude that the MMR shot caused developmental regression, in some cases within 24 hours of vaccination." Comment: A temporally related relationship alone does not prove causation. But a recent event raises a red flag and is, in fact, the most likely cause. Moreover, the fact that autism didn't used to occur at two years old, nor did it result in the loss of skills as does the new, "regressive" form of autism, means cavalierly dismissing the temporal relationship as "coincidental" is neither wise nor scientific. Sadly, however, this is characteristic of what happens re: the vaccine issue. The fact that others are beginning to corroborate Wakefield's findings, in spite of the difficulty finding funding to do so, and the potential risks to one's reputation and livelihood, make easy answers like the ones voiced in the opinion piece above even harder to swallow. ►February 26, 2004 - Leslie Burke is terminally ill. Today he will ask a court for the right to live - www.independent.co.uk ►February 29, 2004 - Health bosses deny MMR deception - Health bosses have denied university students' claims that they were tricked into having the MMR vaccine without their knowledge. - BBC - "A mass inoculation programme against mumps took place at the University of Kent at Canterbury earlier this month after six students caught the disease...Now some students have told a national newspaper they were not told they were being given the MMR vaccine." Diseases and their vaccines (current and in the pipeline) ►March 3, 2004 - Ancient Virus May Help HIV Patients Live Longer - HealthDay via Yahoo! ►March 3, 2004 -
Mysterious
virus may thwart HIV - New England Journal
of Medicine via New Scientist Comment: Avoiding a false HIV positive result is certainly important given the regimen of toxic drugs that HIV positive people are pressured to get. ►March 3, 2004 -
Persistent Hepatitis G Virus Infection in HIV-Positive Men May be Associated
With Prolonged Survival - New England
Journal of Medicine via Doctor's Guide ►February 29, 2004 -
Activists get help in fight on AIDS - Grant: Maryland groups receive $335
million, part of the president's pledge to fight the disease and help victims in
Africa and elsewhere. - Baltimore Sun ►March 5, 2004 -
Monkeys May Speed Alzheimer's Vaccine - Animal Model Shows Promise to Speed
Plaque-Removing Vaccine - Alzheimer Disease and
Associated Disorders via WebMD ►March 4, 2004 - BioPort Supplies FDA-Licensed Anthrax Vaccine to Taiwan - BioPort via Business Wire ►March 3, 2004 - Justice Seeks Dismissal of Anthrax Lawsuit (requires registration) - AP via The Kansas City Star - "The Justice Department wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by six members of the military who are challenging the Pentagon's use of a vaccination against anthrax...Court papers filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court contend the suit has no merit because the Food and Drug Administration ruled on Dec. 30 that the vaccine was safe and effective." Comment: Never mind the fact that the FDA miraculously found reason to approve it just days after the judge declared the vaccine experimental, and put a (what turned out to be) temporary hold on the military's anthrax shot program. ►March 4, 2004 -
Criticism, skepticism surround anthrax vaccine - BioPort defends product
despite lawsuits, studies - The State News - "BioPort
Corp. executives are the first to admit that a cloud of doubt seems to linger
above their anthrax vaccine...Critics relentlessly question if the Lansing-based
company's product would be effective against a bioterrorist attack. Others
contend the immunization is harmful to those who receive it...Company
executives, however, maintain that scientific fact and a series of medical
studies vouch for the safety and effectiveness of the nation's only federally
licensed anthrax vaccine." ►March 4, 2004 - Drug to treat hepatitis B proves useful in blocking anthrax toxin - The University of Chicago Chronicle - "'These toxins pack a one-two punch that makes inhalational anthrax extremely harmful,' said Tang, Associate Professor in the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University. 'For the first time, we have a clinically approved drug that, at least in tissue culture, completely eradicates half of that toxic team, and does it at non-toxic doses.'" Comment: That is good news. In my opinion, it is far better to develop drugs to treat those exposed to anthrax, rather than expose everyone to the known and unknown risks of anthrax vaccination, whether they need it or not. ►March 2, 2004 -
Soldiers demand anthrax vaccine inquiry -
www.abc.net.au ►March 2, 2004 - VaxGen reports Phase I clinical trial results of anthrax vaccine candidate - VaxGen, Inc. via www.eurekalert.org
►March 2, 2004 - Troops
‘gagged’ over anthrax jab concerns - The Herald, UK - "SOLDIERS
calling for an inquiry into the possible effects of Iraq war anthrax
vaccinations on the health of their unborn children have accused the Ministry of
Defence of attempting to gag them."
►March 1, 2004 -
Anthrax Jabs Blamed for Baby Deaths - PA News via The Scotsman ►February 28, 2004 - Anthrax: Vital fact the diggers weren't told - The Australian ►February 29, 2004 - Campaign: Scandal of the Anthrax Babies: A Deadly Chemical Weapon - The Sunday Mirror, UK ►February 29, 2004 - Campaign: Scandal of the Anthrax Babies: Our Worst Nightmare - Baby Kye died: 5 weeks - The Sunday Mirror, UK ►March 2, 2004 -
Children in
Shelters Hit Hard by Asthma (requires registration or subscription) - The
New York Times ►March 3, 2004 -
Anyone
have a tissue? - Carolina Morning News via Lowcountry NOW - "At night, my
romantic husband is very prone to whisper in my ear, between sniffles (snorts),
'Honey, where are the tissues? I think you used the last one and I need
more.'...Yes, we are just two of the some 30 million Americans who suffer from seasonal
allergies. The most difficult season for allergy sufferers is the spring. Why is
that?" ►March 2, 2004 - Asthma Study: Waiting to Exhale - 40 percent of homeless children in shelters in New York City have the respiratory disease, but many are not getting help, authors say - Newsday ►March 4, 2004 -
Autism? Dyslexia? Try Mozart - www.wnep.com Comment: For some insight into the furor that this theory has caused, go to Scandals: Adding Insult to Injustice to Injury Redux. ►March 6, 2004 - When autism causes aggressive behavior - www.king5.com ►March 6, 2004 -
The Geek Theory of Autism - At university, William K. met for the first time
people with exceptional skills like his own - National Post via
www.canada.com ►March 3, 2004 -
Autism complaints heading to tribunal - Rights commission forwards 121 cases
Families call treatment discriminatory - The Toronto Star ►March 1, 2004 - One of Largest Ever Genetic Studies of Autism Launched - Schafer Autism Report ►New report calls for more research into causes of autism - National Autistic Society, UK - ""Mapping Autism Research" is the first-ever comprehensive overview of the UK research field. It outlines a surprising lack of research into the causes of autism and successful interventions compared with other countries. The review also concludes that research into how families cope and into autism support services is extremely scant." ►March 3, 2004 -
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario 121 autism related complaints - Medical
News Today - "The Human Rights Tribunal of
Ontario, Canada, is receiving a record 121 autism-related complaints by
Ontario’s Human Rights Commission...The average number of complaints the
commission refers to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is around 90, and that
includes all types of complaints, not just one type...The complaints say the
province is cutting funding for the treatment of autism for children over six
years of age. People say this is discriminatory." ►March 2, 2004 - Parents urge more autism research - Manchester Online ►February 23, 2004 - Termites,
Crayfish and Autism - www.about.com Comment: It is a disgrace that so much of the cost of research and care falls so squarely on the shoulders of parents already over-burdened by the needs of their precious children. ►Voyages In Autism: Behaviors and Advocacy (pdf) - conference alert - March 20, 2004 in San Pablo, CA ►February 29, 2004 - One of largest ever genetic studies of autism launched - Arizona Republic via www.awares.org ►March 2004 - My life with Asperger’s syndrome - journal article (Archives of Disease in Childhood) ►February 29, 2004 - Research slowly helping despair give way to hope (requires registration) - The Arizona Republic - "'Your child has autism.'...More than 10 families contact the Phoenix-based South- west Autism Research & Resource Center every week after hearing that devastating diagnosis...I say 'family' because autism not only affects your child, but every member of the family. How you feel, what you do, where you eat, how and where you sleep largely depend upon your child with autism." Autism and vaccines (mercury/thimerosal, MMR, in general) - was Autism/mercury, Autism/MMR, Autism & vaccines *For most of the Wakefield "conflict of interest" articles posted on the site, click here (check periodically for updates) ►March 5, 2004 -
Injection
of sense (requires subscription) - Times Online, UK ►March 7, 2004 - Single
MMR jag demand soars despite claims - The Scotsman - "Accusations
that research linking the triple jag to health risks was 'fatally flawed' has
only served to further entrench public scepticism over the jag’s safety,
according to doctors providing single-vaccine alternatives." ►March 7, 2004 - Autism debate underscores research difficulty, cost of disproving bad science - CP via www.canada.com - "When Dr. Noni MacDonald starts talking about the debate over whether childhood vaccinations cause autism, her words are steeped in anger. She thinks the public ought to be angry, too...The source of the emotion? The years of time, effort and research funding that has been spent disproving a piece of British research that last week was repudiated by most of the team responsible for it." Comment: Do any of those who are using this opportunity to discredit the research linking the MMR to autism care that the research has not actually been disproved? Do they care that all that has happened is that a potential conflict has been raised? Do they care that, although regrettable, a potential for conflict of interest does not in and of itself disprove research, but merely raises the specter that the research has been tainted and/or influenced by the conflict? Have any of these self-righteously angry decriers ever once complained about the clear and obvious conflicts of interest in support of the MMR vaccine?
►March 7,
2004 - Leading article:
The MMR superstition
(requires subscription) -
The Times Online ►March 7, 2004 - The needle and the damage done - opinion - Scotland on Sunday - "THE hours after her one-year-old son Victor was injected with the MMR vaccination were among the longest of Iustina Del Veneziano’s life...After an agonising decision process before deciding to go ahead with the jag, the Edinburgh mum was watching for any small indication that she might have made the wrong move. She didn’t have to wait long." ►March 6, 2004 -
Retraction of an interpretation (requires registration) - journal article
(The Lancet) ►March 4, 2004 - Minnesota Senate: Bill offering bounty for mercury advances - Pioneer Press via www.twincities.com ►March 3, 2004 - Debate Festers Over Autism & MMR - First Coast News - "Bradstreet is also pro-vaccine, despite the results of his research. 'Responsible vaccine policy is the mandate. For example, a nasal measles vaccine is being developed that would be inhaled instead of injected. That's perhaps two years out. Since that's the way the virus is naturally introduced into the body, I'm in favor of that.'...'And whatever cases of regression may be attributable to MMR, we haven't been able to prove enough of them yet for a change in vaccine policy to be necessary. The weight of the evidence still falls squarely on the benefits of vaccination. I think eventually we'll have the data to determine who's at risk, how do we come up with safer vaccines, and how do we make sure all children are protected.'" ►March 3, 2004 - Clinic dismisses attack on MMR doctor - News Shopper - "STAFF at an Eltham clinic offering single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines have dismissed claims that research linking the MMR vaccine to autism is 'poor science'...However, staff at the Direct 2000 clinic, in Grove Market Place, Eltham, believe the revelation is an attempt to influence a judicial review into the withdrawal of legal aid for families suing vaccine manufacturers." ►February 29, 2004 - Now Andrew Wakefield demands apology from The Lancet - Sunday Telegraph via www.awares.org ►March 2, 2004 -
Mercury:
Enough! - White House shouldn't delay controls on toxic pollutant (requires
registration) - The Charlotte Observer Comment: The failure to disclose the possible conflict of interest does not in and of itself mean that there was anything wrong with Wakefield's research. The research may or may not have been influenced by the alleged conflict. If there was as much attention being paid to those with clear conflict of interest re: the vaccine manufacturers as re: someone investigating the issue for a legal aid board, the furor over this might seem fair and reasonable. As it is, the furor appears to be more political than anything. ►March 1, 2004 - Toxin combo common in fish appears capable of impairing motor skills - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via www.eurekalert.org - "Pups of female rats exposed to a combination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) slip and fall more often trying to maneuver on a rotating rod than do pups from non-exposed moms, scientists say." ►March 3, 2004 - MMR researchers issue retraction - Ten doctors who co-authored the study which sparked health fears over the MMR jab have said there was insufficient evidence to draw that conclusion. - BBC - "In a statement, to be published in The Lancet, the doctors say: 'We wish to make it clear that in this paper no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient...However, the possibility of such a link was raised and consequent events have had major implications for public health...In view of this, we consider now is the appropriate time that we should together formally retract the interpretation placed upon these findings in the paper.'" Comment: To read the always fair-minded and insightful Nicholas Regush on this and other breaking news stories, go to www.redflagsdaily.com ►March 2, 2004 - Thimerosal Concerns for Pets (includes video) - First Coast News - "Lamoureux wants pet owners to know there is a risk out there when getting pets vaccinated. She is not advocating the refusal of vaccinations, she says she just wants pet owners to become educated about their choices...Veterinarian "Dr. Skip Hightman says he's seen cases of animals having bad reactions to vaccines. 'As far as anaphylactic reaction, cellulitis, sarcomas and many other problems and sometimes even death.' Dr. Hightman's own cat died of cancer shortly after receiving a rabies vaccination. He says there is one company that's responded to concerns from veterinarians and taken Thimerosal out of its vaccine." ►March 2, 2004 - MMR research poser - letters - The Scotsman ►March 3, 2004 - Legal aid verdict for parents in MMR fight - http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk - "Parents who believe the MMR vaccine caused their son's autism will find out next week if they will have to abandon legal action against a drugs company...Roy and Sue Pargetter are appealing against a decision made last September which resulted in their legal aid being withdrawn."
►March 3, 2004 -
Autism debate goes on - Liverpool Echo via
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk
- "Today scientists and parents called for more research into the causes of
autism, which has been overshadowed by the debate over MMR...They now want a
broad range of issues connected to autism to be examined...Ms Tierney, 37, said:
"I welcome anything that looks into autism - and the sooner the better...'And it
should be done by a research team that has no ties whatsoever and is totally
independent.'"
►March 4, 2004 -
Researchers retract autism link - AP via The Australian ►March 2, 2004 - Doctor's diary: a jab in the dark - The truth about MMR must be revealed, says Dr James Le Fanu - "The Government finds itself in an invidious situation over the MMR/autism controversy, having painted itself into a corner by denying parents the option of the single measles vaccine. They, thus, have no alternative other than to insist the MMR is totally safe - irrespective of evidence that might emerge to suggest the contrary." ►February 10, 2002 - Dogma on MMR does not work - Parents need information and choice - The Observer via The Guardian, UK - "The MMR debate goes to the heart of the relationship between the individual and society. This is an age in which people expect to exercise choice; but there are times when the collective good must prevail. The great programmes against cholera, polio and smallpox could never have taken place had they not been enforced. Yet here we have the makings of a public health disaster, with drift, fear and confusion. The unconfirmed findings of maverick scientists such as Dr Andrew Wakefield prey upon a public which has grown at once more consumerist and more sceptical of authority, with good reason after the BSE and foot and mouth fiascos." ►March 1, 2004 - Misreporting Measles Research - National Electronic Library for Health (archive) - www.nelh.nhs.uk - "The research study found that a higher proportion of children with developmental disorder and new variant inflammatory bowel disease had measles virus in their gut tissue than healthy children." Comment: This analysis tries to make it appear as if there is no evidence linking MMR vaccine to the measles virus in these children or good reason to believe they might be connected. As for research, there is research evidence linking the two. As for good reason, these children were vaccinated and had never had the measles. So the presence of measles virus in their gut probably either means that a) it is measles vaccine virus or b) vaccinated children who get the measles can suffer gastrointestinal problems which may or may not be related to autism. ►February 29, 2004 - Autism is a mystery, not a medical conspiracy - opinion - The Scotsman - "In contrast to Wakefield, I intend to declare an interest at the outset. My son Josh is autistic. Like most children, he was given the MMR vaccine at around 18 months. Shortly afterwards, he began exhibiting the first signs of what we now identify as autistic behaviour. The link between these two events is tempting, but, for reasons of sanity, I have resisted it...In the vast majority of cases, autism manifests itself at around two years, or, in other words, just after the MMR is administered. This coincidence inspired Wakefield’s study. In 1998, his team reviewed reports of children with bowel disease and autistic symptoms. Their research led them to conclude that the MMR shot caused developmental regression, in some cases within 24 hours of vaccination." Comment: A temporally related relationship alone does not prove causation. But a recent event raises a red flag and is, in fact, the most likely cause. Moreover, the fact that autism didn't used to occur at two years old, nor did it result in the loss of skills as does the new, "regressive" form of autism, means cavalierly dismissing the temporal relationship as "coincidental" is neither wise nor scientific. Sadly, however, this is characteristic of what happens re: the vaccine issue. The fact that others are beginning to corroborate Wakefield's findings, in spite of the difficulty finding funding to do so, and the potential risks to one's reputation and livelihood, make easy answers like the ones voiced in the opinion piece above even harder to swallow. ►February 26, 2004 - MMR medics challenged over child spinal taps - Times Online - "NEW questions about the ethics of the controversial study that linked the MMR vaccine to autism in children will be raised in Parliament today, The Times has learnt..Less than a week after the doctor who pioneered the research was accused of failing to disclose a £55,000 payment, ministers are to be asked whether he had received proper ethical approval. The fresh doubts centre on whether the lumbar punctures to which autistic children were subjected by Andrew Wakefield’s team at the Royal Free Hospital were clinically justified." ►February 29, 2004 - Wakefield unlikely to be charged over MMR scare - www.independent.co.uk ►February 29, 2004 - MMR docs' links with drugs firms - Sunday Mercury via http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk - "Four leading Midland doctors who deemed the controversial MMR vaccine safe have links to the drug giants who make or supply the jab...Campaigners have called for the General Medical Council to investigate the senior Government advisors, who all hold scientific posts in the Midlands and sat on key committees which declared the vaccine safe." ►February 24, 2004 - This carefully orchestrated campaign must not be allowed to stifle real debate on MMR (requires subscription) - www.independent.co.uk ►February 29, 2004 - Twisted conflicts - (letters) The Observer via The Guardian, UK - "It seems a scientist, such as Dr Andrew Wakefield (News and Leader, last week), who uncovers genuine concerns about the safety of a vaccine has to be 'squeaky clean'...In contrast, scientists who are vocal in support of the vaccine, and are responsible for checking its safety, are allowed to receive research funding from the company that produces it and to hold shares in the company, or act as consultants." (sent by Dr Milton Wainwright, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield) ►February 29, 2004 - Doctor demands apology for MMR claims in Lancet - Telegraph, UK - "Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who first raised fears of a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, has hired a libel lawyer to demand an apology from The Lancet after claiming that the medical journal has cast doubt on his honesty...Dr Wakefield's decision to enlist the support of Carter-Ruck, the London law firm that specialises in defamation suits, follows the denunciation of his work last week by The Lancet." ►February 29, 2004 - Dirty tricks drug firms use to get publicity - The Scotsman - "SHOCKING tactics including bribery, fabrication and plagiarism are being used by unscrupulous drug companies to get their research published in influential medical journals, according to a damning new report...Only a week after controversial research on the MMR vaccine was discredited by the journal which published it following a 'fatal conflict of interest', an influential committee has revealed the widespread use of underhand tactics by researchers." ►March 8, 2002 - Serial letter writer, Dr. Elphinstone exposed - Private Eye via www.whale.to Autism therapies/education/medicine (including the cost of care)/support ►March 4, 2004 - Autism victims to get Capital support centre - Evening News via The Scotsman
►March 3, 2004 -
New therapy for Autism
- www.wfsb.com - "You
can't get a sense of how incredible sensory learning is until you see a before
and after example of it." ►March 3, 2004 -
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario 121 autism related complaints - Medical
News Today - "The Human Rights Tribunal of
Ontario, Canada, is receiving a record 121 autism-related complaints by
Ontario’s Human Rights Commission...The average number of complaints the
commission refers to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario is around 90, and that
includes all types of complaints, not just one type...The complaints say the
province is cutting funding for the treatment of autism for children over six
years of age. People say this is discriminatory." ►February 27, 2004 - Parents gather at State Capitol to protest autism-treatment cuts - Green Bay Press-Gazette ►March 1, 2004 - Parents: Autism curable - San Mateo Daily Journal Autoimmunity/autoimmune disease (in general) Behavioral disorders, chronic disability
►March 6, 2004 - Move
to Florida Began Tailspin for Mother and Daughter - The Ledger - "It was the
frigid weather and high rent in New Jersey that got Valerie Lowe thinking about
a move to Florida...As a single mother caring for a daughter with profound
cerebral palsy, Lowe, 41, said she couldn't afford $850 a month for a
two-bedroom apartment in a decent part of town...Not while working as a sales
associate for Old Navy...Lowe loved her job, so after asking her employer to be
transferred to a sunny, Florida location, she wound up at Lakeland Square
mall...That was August 2002, and the beginning of Lowe's tailspin into
joblessness and welfare." ►March 5, 2004 - Safeguarding
science - A new government panel will attempt to prevent research data from
falling into the hands of terrorists - Newsday ►March 6, 2004 - Prognosis for teenagers and young people with cancer fails to improve - journal article (BMJ) ►March 2, 2004 -
Cancer coincidence? - An overwhelmed state office tries to connect disease
clusters to pollution -- but some say the agency is wasting time - The Boston
Globe via www.boston.com Comment: If those who question sunscreen use are
correct, the rise in melanoma could be attributed to
increased exposure to
the sun, (and the "fact" that sunscreen only prevents
burns and not cancer). ►March 2, 2004 - Improving treatment of medulloblastoma, a common childhood brain tumor - Pilot study demonstrates that presence of ERBB2 protein might identify medulloblastoma patients who are more resistant to treatment - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital via www.eurekalert.org Comment: SV40 has been associated with childhood medulloblastoma. For more on SV40 and cancer, go to Scandals: The Institute of Medicine Review Of SV40 Contamination of Polio Vaccine and Cancer.
►March 2, 2004 -
2 drugs open a new front in cancer war - Avastin, Erbitux herald revolution
that targets cells (requires registration) - The Chicago Tribune ►February 27, 2004 - Drugs limit deadly side effects of graft-versus-host disease - Could make bone marrow transplants an option for more cancer patients - University of Michigan Health System via www.eurekalert.org ►March 3, 2004 - Elk
River Clinic Announces Chickenpox Vaccine Recall - PRNewswire via
http://interestalert.com - "The RiverWay
Clinic in Elk River today announced that it is contacting approximately 1,200
patients who received immunizations with varicella (chickenpox) vaccine at the
clinic between Dec. 1998 and Dec. 2003 to ensure that they are adequately
protected from the chickenpox...An audit of vaccine freezers at the clinic in
January found a temperature variance in one freezer containing varicella
(chickenpox) vaccine that may have resulted in the loss of effectiveness of the
vaccine stored inside." Comment: Or maybe we should start reexamining the wisdom of vaccinating children for this what at least used to be benign disease. For more on why this might be the case, go to Scandals: When is an oops not really an oops? When you get to solve the problems you cause, and make money doing both!. ►March 1, 2004 - Booster May Be Needed For Failing Chicken Pox Shot - Researchers Study Lake Oswego Outbreak - www.koin.com - "In 2001, 18 children at Forest Hills Elementary School in Lake Oswego developed the illness -- despite previous chicken pox vaccinations...Researchers who studied the outbreak found that the big jump in cases came five years after vaccination. Now they believe that a booster shot may be needed after five years." Comment: Maybe it would be better to let children get the chickenpox. For more on this, go to Scandals: When is an oops not really an oops? When you get to solve the problems you cause, and make money doing both!, Scandals: Playing With Fire - It's Not EASY To Fool Mother Nature, and Scandals: Prescription For Disaster - Is Vaccine Policy A "House of Cards"? ►February 29, 2004 - Study: Vaccine benefit fades - Less effective after a year - The Cincinatti Enquirer - "A new study might spark debate among pediatricians and parents about the effectiveness of the chickenpox vaccine and when it should be given to children...Researchers at Yale Medical School say the effectiveness of the vaccine fades significantly in the first year after vaccination. And the vaccine also doesn't appear to be as effective in children younger than 15 months." Comment: Prior to the vaccine being developed, chickenpox was universally considered a benign disease. If it has become more serious since that time, why might that be? ►February 27, 2004 - Diabetes
may be linked to early hearing loss - Studies point to danger of deafness
and mental decline in old age - journal article (Nature) ►March 6, 2004 - Flu alarm rang falsely, state says - Portland Press Herald - "As Maine's flu season winds down, it appears that predictions of an abnormally severe outbreak were overblown. The flu season in Maine was "not particularly noteworthy," state epidemiologist Kathleen Gensheimer said, despite reports from Western states that this year's flu strain was breaking out early and hitting hard...'There's a fine line between providing information and scaring people,' Gensheimer said. 'This story was sensationalized all the way up the channels.'" ►March 2, 2004 - New, Deadly Flu Pandemic 'Inevitable,' Experts Warn - USA Today via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract) Comment: How do they know it is "inevitable"? Do we really know why the 1918 flu pandemic occurred and that it is a repeatable event? If so, how do we "know" that? ►March 4, 2004 - Bills seek to allow greater access to flu shots - Legislation would expand pharmacists' powers to give vaccinations - Baltimore Sun ►March 4, 2004 -
Texas working quickly to solve avian flu issue - Country World News ►The Immunization of Children against Influenza can Protect the Elderly - media release - Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit ►March 3, 2004 -
Inactivated Flu Vaccine Works in Kids Too -
Clinical Infectious Diseases via Reuters via Yahoo! ►March 3, 2004 -
Moment of
truth nears on bird flu - Asia Times ►March 3, 2004 - USDA Says Bird Flu in Texas Appears Contained - Reuters via Yahoo! News
►March 3, 2004 -
`Flu' an informative, precise look at the 1918 pandemic -
http://metromix.chicagotribune.com
- "In recent American history, the experience with flu is mostly one of minor
inconvenience and, perhaps, major discomfort...But epidemiologists, insurance
companies and an increasing number of citizens understand that the influenza
virus, in one form or another, has the potential to do much worse in the
not-too-distant future...In 1918, influenza
caused the worst pandemic in the world's history, more lethal than the Black
Death, killing more people in months than World War I had in four years." ►March 2, 2004 - Flu Season Seems Over, Officials Say (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "The flu season appears to have ended early and as abruptly as it started, and was not much more severe than usual seasonal outbreaks, federal health officials said here on Monday...'The influenza season has wound down very dramatically, declining to levels lower than we often expect at this time of year,' said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, a top influenza expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Comment: So much for the benefits of creating hysteria (unless you consider vaccine manufacturer profits a benefit of vaccination). For more on this, go to How the Mass Media in the U.S. Created Flu Hysteria and Helped Drive the Vaccine Markets for the Makers of FluMist And Fluzone. - by RFD columnist Sherri Tenpenny, DO in the Online Vaccines Conference @ www.redflagsdaily.com ►March 2, 2004 -
Flu threatens
world, experts say - Pandemic risk at 30-year high, scientists report - The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Comment: From the people who just brought you the 2003-2004 flu season hysteria and who apparently believe you just can't have too much hysteria (warranted or not). ►March 1, 2004 - Troubled
FluMist Vaccine to Remain in Production - Status of Saatchi on $40 Million
Account Still Unknown - www.adage.com - "MedImmune
today said it will continue producing troubled nasal flu vaccine FluMist,
despite slumping sales and the possibility of a $75 million write-off if Wyeth
bows out of a co-marketing agreement on the drug." Comment: It may sound great on the surface, but
what are the risks? For instance, it was recently
reported
that genetic modification of vaccines may may pose considerable problems:
"Genetically engineered pox viruses in cell cultures recombined with natural
viruses to create new hybrid viruses with unpredictable and potentially
dangerous characteristics". Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, a vaccine researcher,
testified that the
recombinant hepatitis B vaccine causes serious side effects. ►March 1, 2004 - MedImmune Plans to Keep FluMist Alive - MedImmune to Keep FluMist Alive Despite Dismal Sales, Lowering Outlook for the Coming Year - AP via ABC News
►March 1, 2004 - Unexpected
Lessons Learned This Flu Season - Los Angeles Times via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) ►February 29, 2004 - Great Influenza killed quickly, cruelly, perversely - Vivid history of U.S. epidemic of 1918 is also a cautionary tale for our times (requires registration) - book review - The Providence Journal Haemophilus Influenza/Hib Vaccine Hepatitis A/hepatitis A vaccine ►March 3, 2004 -
Red Cross
Examines Blood Supply After Hepatitis Case - Some Donors Ate At Taco Bell
With Infected Employee -
www.thechamplainchannel.com ►February 29, 2004 - Red tape delays hepatitis-B vaccination - The Daily Star Comment: For a different perspective on both the risk of acquiring hepatitis B as well as its seriousness, go to Scandals: The CDC and “The New Math”, where 1 + 1 does not equal 2. For more on the the spread of hepatitis B in developing nations and why advocating the use of vaccination, under the circumstances, is very revealing, go to Scandals: "But Faith, fanatic Faith, once wedded fast To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last." - Thomas Moore (Scandals - update and "flashback"). Hepatitis C/hepatitis C vaccine ►March 1, 2004 -How
Mild Hepatitis C Unfolds - One in three people with mild hepatitis C
infection will experience rapid worsening of the condition, says a study in the
current issue of Gut. - Pak Tribune IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases) ►March 1, 2004 -
Chronic
Fatigue, Irritable Bowel Mistaken For Celiac Disease - Celiac Disease Often
Considered Child's Ailment -
www.wbalchannel.com ►March 6, 2004 - Lyme Disease Support Group Formed - Voices via www.zwire.com ►Mad Cow Disease, Mad Deer Disease - Chronic Wasting Disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - feature articles - Organic Consumers Association Meningitis/meningitis vaccine/Prevnar/pneumonia/pneumococcal vaccine
►March 3, 2004 - U.S.
Further Rations Meningitis Vaccine - Wall Street Journal via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) Comment: For a different take on the vaccine, go to Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine? Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine. ►March 2004 -
Decrease of Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Children Among 8 Children's
Hospitals in the United States After the Introduction of the 7-Valent
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine - journal article
(Pediatrics) - "Conclusions. Since the
introduction of the PCV7, the number of invasive pneumococcal
infections caused by vaccine-serogroup isolates among 8 US children’s
hospitals has decreased >75% among children
Comment: For more on this problem of serotype replacement, go to Scandals: Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?. ►March 4, 2004 - LHS student dies of suspected meningitis - Lemoore Advance via www.newzcentral.com Comment: Although meningitis can be deadly, it is still a very rare event. For that reason, vigilance is needed to guard against any hysteria generated over it. For more on this, go to Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine? Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine. ►March 2, 2004 -
Senate
Passes 2 New Bills On Vaccinations - Colleges Could Be Required To Give Info
On Meningitis - www.theiowachannel.com Comment: Should the vaccine be used for ear infections? Not if you believe "whistle blower" Dr. Erdem Cantekin. (Also see, News 8 Investigates: Prevnar-Part 1 and News 8 Investigates: Vaccine Safety Part 2.) ►March 3, 2004 - Shortage of Meningitis Drug Continues (requires registration) - The Washington Post ►February 29, 2004 - New Vaccine Shortage - CDC via www.about.com ►March 5, 2004 - Rubella Dangers - Medstar via www.wsoctv.com Comment: For a perspective on rubella vaccine dangers, go to Scandals: Is Rubella Vaccination Playing A Role In The Rise In Autism? ►March 7, 2004 - Sick children untreated due to MMR fears - Families seek care in US as UK doctors dismiss complaints to avoid triple jab controversy - Sunday Herald, UK - "AUTISTIC children in Britain are being forced to fly to the US for treatment because of the ongoing political controversy surrounding the MMR jab...Up to 10 British children, including a seven-year-old from Edinburgh, have been treated at a specialist centre in Florida for painful bowel diseases after the NHS refused to recognise their symptoms...An investigation by the Sunday Herald has revealed that despite medical evidence of a link between the disorder and autism, NHS doctors are ignoring or dismissing the connection because they fear becoming embroiled in the triple jab controversy. Instead of acknowledging a previously unknown condition that inflames the children’s bowels, they say the painful symptoms are caused by constipation." ►March 7, 2004 - Dangerous disease - opinion - Scotland on Sunday - "Up to now, parents who fundamentally oppose the MMR have either had to source and pay for single injections - at up to £350 per course - or gamble that if they leave their children unprotected they will not catch one of the diseases. The former option is becoming increasingly rare, with sources of single inoculations drying up - at the moment the mumps vaccine is almost impossible to obtain. A mass order for single vaccines from the NHS would soon have manufacturers vying to meet the demand, of course, and it looks increasingly sensible to offer parents that alternative, so long as they are willing to pay for a service which is above and beyond basic need. Some will see this as caving in to ill-informed prejudice but this would be a small price to pay to protect all our children from disease." ►January 2004 - Seroprevalence of measles, mumps and rubella antibodies in Luxembourg: results from a national cross-sectional study. - journal article (Epidemiol Infect.) ►March 1, 2004 - MMR uptake causes worry - www.edp24.co.uk ►February 29, 2004 - Health bosses deny MMR deception - Health bosses have denied university students' claims that they were tricked into having the MMR vaccine without their knowledge. - BBC - "A mass inoculation programme against mumps took place at the University of Kent at Canterbury earlier this month after six students caught the disease...Now some students have told a national newspaper they were not told they were being given the MMR vaccine." ►March 1, 2004 - Misreporting Measles Research - National Electronic Library for Health (archive) - www.nelh.nhs.uk - "The research study found that a higher proportion of children with developmental disorder and new variant inflammatory bowel disease had measles virus in their gut tissue than healthy children." Comment: This analysis tries to make it appear as if there is no evidence linking MMR vaccine to the measles virus in these children or good reason to believe they might be connected. As for research, there is research evidence linking the two. As for good reason, these children were vaccinated and had never had the measles. So the presence of measles virus in their gut probably either means that a) it is measles vaccine virus or b) vaccinated children who get the measles can suffer gastrointestinal problems which may or may not be related to autism. ►March 4, 2004 -
Multiple
sclerosis: Taming of a shrew - UPI ►March 2, 2004 -
Multiple
sclerosis: Catherine's crusade - UPI - "Stunned by a report ranking MS as
the most disabling -- by a complex measure incorporating the age of those
affected and degree of impairment -- yet least funded of 11 diseases studied,
Akay gave up her flourishing psychotherapy practice in 1999 to try to even those
financial odds...She began by founding a non-profit research fund whose name
dictates its sole aim: Cure MS Now!" ►March 3, 2004 - Old Diseases Fall Off Public Health Radar; Complacency Allows Malaria, TB To Flourish - USA Today via www.intelihealth.com - "Microbial killers such as drug-resistant malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and syphilis continue to ravage the world. Health experts say they know how to prevent and treat these diseases, but first they need to overcome a different kind of public health enemy: complacency...Public attention in the past two years has focused on new diseases, such as SARS, and new threats, such as bioterrorism, but scientists here at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases say the lack of attention to older diseases is allowing them to flourish." ►March 4, 2004 - Cigarette
Smoking Increases Lupus Risk - Risk of Autoimmune Disease Higher Among
Smokers - WebMD Medical News ►March 3, 2004 - Groups Urging No Antibiotics for Earaches - AP via The Herald-Sun - "Parents of cranky children with ear infections be warned: Antibiotics may no longer be what the doctor orders. Two leading medical groups are expected to recommend this spring that doctors stop treating most ear infections in children with antibiotics, federal health officials said Tuesday...The move contradicts years of pediatric practice and is expected to disappoint weary parents of whimpering, infected toddlers...About half of all antibiotics prescribed to preschool children are for treating ear infections. Health officials believe if they can reduce child antibiotic use for such infections, they can stop the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs created by overuse of the drugs...'It will mark a dramatic change in appropriate antibiotic use,' said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the meningitis and special pathogens branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." ►March 1, 2004 -
CDC Searches for Cause to Mystery Deaths - AP via Yahoo! - "In
a project resembling something out of the X Files, federal health officials say
the causes of a quarter of the deaths that have stumped coroners in recent years
appear to be from ordinary, treatable conditions." ►February 29, 2004 - Most `stomach flu' avoidable - In case you haven't been listening, wash those germy hands! - AP via Akron Beacon Journal via www.ohio.com Other vaccines/vaccines in the pipeline Pets/pet and other animal vaccines ►March 4, 2004 - Experts hail breakthrough in hunt for horse vaccine - Daily Post via Liverpool Echo via http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk ►March 2, 2004 - Thimerosal Concerns for Pets (includes video) - First Coast News - "Lamoureux wants pet owners to know there is a risk out there when getting pets vaccinated. She is not advocating the refusal of vaccinations, she says she just wants pet owners to become educated about their choices...Veterinarian "Dr. Skip Hightman says he's seen cases of animals having bad reactions to vaccines. 'As far as anaphylactic reaction, cellulitis, sarcomas and many other problems and sometimes even death.' Dr. Hightman's own cat died of cancer shortly after receiving a rabies vaccination. He says there is one company that's responded to concerns from veterinarians and taken Thimerosal out of its vaccine." Pneumonia/pneumococcal/Prevnar - see Meningitis/meningitis vaccine/Prevnar/pneumonia/pneumococcal vaccine ►March 5, 2004 - Rumours and vaccines - The Globe And Mail - "So much is riding on northern Nigeria's verdict on the polio vaccine that any delay is frustrating. It had been expected that the government and Islamic religious leaders in Nigeria's Kano state would announce this week whether vaccinations against polio would resume. On Wednesday, officials with the United Nations World Health Organization said the state had postponed any decision until March 15."
►March 2, 2004 - Last
ditch fight to end polio - Focus turns to post-polio era as eradication
leader plans a final assault on the virus - The Scientist via
www.biomedcentral.com SBS (Shaken Baby Syndrome)/SIDS
►March 2, 2004 - Diluted
Smallpox Vaccine Dose Equally Effective - Central News Agency via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) ►March 15, 2004 -
Looking Back at Smallpox - journal article
(Clinical Infectious Diseases) - "Examination of clinical
variants suggests that severity of illness was usually
determined by host responses during the incubation period.
Control of viral replication was aided by early
postexposure vaccination and might be strengthened by
additional immunological interventions." ►March 5, 2004 - Louisiana:
Fourteen Elementary Students Test Positive for TB - AP via
www.aegis.org ►March 3, 2004 - Old Diseases Fall Off Public Health Radar; Complacency Allows Malaria, TB To Flourish - USA Today via www.intelihealth.com - "Microbial killers such as drug-resistant malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and syphilis continue to ravage the world. Health experts say they know how to prevent and treat these diseases, but first they need to overcome a different kind of public health enemy: complacency...Public attention in the past two years has focused on new diseases, such as SARS, and new threats, such as bioterrorism, but scientists here at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases say the lack of attention to older diseases is allowing them to flourish." ►February 28, 2004 - Kids to Get Early Booster in TB Scare - Glasgow Evening Times via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract) ►March 1, 2004 - Screening removes West Nile from blood supply - American Society for Microbiology via www.eurekalert.org ►March 3, 2004 - We fight on - Northwich Chronicle via Liverpool Daily Post via http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk - "A FAMILY who have been fighting for answers for more than 30 years say they will never give up hope of getting justice for their daughter...Fred and Pat Pye, of King George Avenue, Northwich, claim their daughter Debbie was left severely disabled when she was given a DPT injection, a fore-runner of the MMR vaccine, in the late 1960s...Now the couple have taken their fight to the next level, writing to Conservative Party leader Michael Howard in a bid for justice for them and the other 500 families in the region who have found themselves in the same situation." ►July 2001 - Whole-Cell but Not Acellular Pertussis Vaccines Induce Convulsive Activity in Mice: Evidence of a Role for Toxin-Induced Interleukin-1 in a New Murine Model for Analysis of Neuronal Side Effects of Vaccination - journal article (Infection and Immunity) - "Our findings provide the first direct evidence of an immunological basis for pertussis vaccine reactogenicity and suggest that active bacterial toxins are responsible for the neurologic disturbances observed in children immunized with Pw." ►March 2, 2004 - Even With Vaccination, the 'Whoop' Is Back (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "Get used to it. Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, is here to stay...So are pertussis-related deaths among vulnerable infants, unless steps are taken to stem the increasing number of cases of the highly contagious disease." Funding/incentives/other money matters ►March 5, 2004 - Promise, peril and progress - The Washington Times - "Ever since they were discovered by scientists, embryonic stem cells have been thought to hold both distinct moral peril and great medical promise — that they might one day be used to cure diseases like Parkinson's and juvenile diabetes — but at the cost of devaluing the sacred gift of life. Those dilemmas framed President Bush's August 2001 decision to restrict federal funding of such research to a limited number of stem-cell lines. However, the policy needs re-evaluation in the light of recent circumstances." ►March 3, 2004 - Legal aid verdict for parents in MMR fight - http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk - "Parents who believe the MMR vaccine caused their son's autism will find out next week if they will have to abandon legal action against a drugs company...Roy and Sue Pargetter are appealing against a decision made last September which resulted in their legal aid being withdrawn." - includes compensation/VICP, re: tort reform
►March 3, 2004 -
House
debates malpractice bill (requires registration) - The Kansas City Star
►March 5, 2004 - Safeguarding
science - A new government panel will attempt to prevent research data from
falling into the hands of terrorists - Newsday ►March 5, 2004 - House
committee votes to kill immunization bill - AP via Charleston Daily Mail -
"A bill that would have allowed parents to refuse to have their children
immunized for religious reasons was killed by a House subcommittee...A House
Health and Human Resources subcommittee voted 6-1 to postpone indefinitely
consideration of the proposal, preventing further legislative action on it this
year." ►March 4, 2004 - Minnesota Senate: Bill offering bounty for mercury advances - Pioneer Press via www.twincities.com ►March 4, 2004 - Immunization controversy: Should colleges require the bacterial meningitis vaccine? - The Stanford Daily - "'I don’t think it would be a good policy to require the vaccine,' said Dr. Ira Friedman, who works at Vaden. 'A vaccine should be required only when its benefits far outweigh its costs, in dollars and otherwise. This is not the case for the meningococcal vaccine. That’s why public health authorities support an educational approach.'”...However, other medical professionals disagree with Friedman’s opinions and claim that there is no significant reason not to get the meningitis vaccine. According to the CDC, the vaccine proves 85 to 90 percent effective against the most common strains,with rare side effects of mild redness or slight fever." Comment: For a different take on the vaccine, go to Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine? Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine.
►March 4, 2004 -
Immunization
Exemption Debated in W.Va. House - The Intelligencer and Wheeling
News-Register - "Tucker pointed out West Virginia and Mississippi are the only
two states in the nation that do not have the possibility of such exemptions in
their immunization laws, but Mercer said he does not see that as a downside for
the state...'That does not mean we're the two backward (states). We're the two
forward ones,' Mercer said, adding that some states are looking at reversing
their exemptions." ►March 3, 2004 - Jacksonville Parents File Claim in Vaccine Court (includes video) - First Coast News - "'The cover-up from all this just drives me crazy.'...It's a massive cover-up, says Jacksonville mother Cindy Hartman. She's referring to the potentially damaging effects of a preservative once commonly used in childhood vaccinations. That preservative, thimerosal, is 49.6 percent mercury, one of the most toxic substances on the planet." ►March 3, 2004 - We fight on - Northwich Chronicle via Liverpool Daily Post via http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk - "A FAMILY who have been fighting for answers for more than 30 years say they will never give up hope of getting justice for their daughter...Fred and Pat Pye, of King George Avenue, Northwich, claim their daughter Debbie was left severely disabled when she was given a DPT injection, a fore-runner of the MMR vaccine, in the late 1960s...Now the couple have taken their fight to the next level, writing to Conservative Party leader Michael Howard in a bid for justice for them and the other 500 families in the region who have found themselves in the same situation."
►March 2, 2004 -
Senate
Passes 2 New Bills On Vaccinations - Colleges Could Be Required To Give Info
On Meningitis - www.theiowachannel.com ►March 8, 2004 - New Jersey squelches lawsuit for advertising fraud - In the Courts - www.ama-assn.org ►March 3, 2004 - Legal aid verdict for parents in MMR fight - http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk - "Parents who believe the MMR vaccine caused their son's autism will find out next week if they will have to abandon legal action against a drugs company...Roy and Sue Pargetter are appealing against a decision made last September which resulted in their legal aid being withdrawn." Licensing/other procedural matters ►March 5, 2004 - Attorney disbarred - The Journal News - "Filenbaum also represented clients in a private practice, taking on several cases defending parents' rights not to have their children vaccinated. He was considered an expert on immunization law, lecturing on the laws and testifying in other courts on the issue...F. Hollis Griffin, a longtime public defender who has worked with Filenbaum since 1986, said many of the cases involving vaccinations were handled by Filenbaum. Griffin said he lost one Justice Court case as a prosecutor and it was to Filenbaum." ►March 3, 2004 -
Alternative therapists to face new controls in government crackdown - The
Independent, UK - "Rogue practitioners of alternative medicine who try to
exploit patients will be driven out of business under plans announced by the
Government yesterday...One in five people uses alternative medicine regularly,
and there are more therapists than orthodox doctors but no control on standards
of training, ministers said." Comment: Would that unfounded allopathic methods of treatment and misdiagnoses were eyed with the same level of scrutiny. Parental/health rights/exemptions/mandatory/privacy/health freedom ►March 1, 2004 - Parents
Lobby to Ease Immunization Laws - St. Louis Post-Dispatch via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) Comment: For a different take on the vaccine, go to Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine? Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine.
►March 4, 2004 -
Immunization
Exemption Debated in W.Va. House - The Intelligencer and Wheeling
News-Register - "Tucker pointed out West Virginia and Mississippi are the only
two states in the nation that do not have the possibility of such exemptions in
their immunization laws, but Mercer said he does not see that as a downside for
the state...'That does not mean we're the two backward (states). We're the two
forward ones,' Mercer said, adding that some states are looking at reversing
their exemptions." ►February 26, 2004 - Leslie Burke is terminally ill. Today he will ask a court for the right to live - www.independent.co.uk ►February 29, 2004 - Religious exemption worries Ripley mother - Sunday Gazette-Mail - "'How can these groups call themselves pro-life and pro-family if taking a moral stand against abortions performed in the 1960s takes precedence over protecting the lives of those with weakened immune systems today?' she asked." Comment: As I said in my 2002 speech: "Public Health will say that these vaccines must be mandatory or these diseases will spread. But if the vaccines work, anyone choosing them will be protected. If they don’t prevent the spread of the disease to the vaccinated, what is the point? It hardly seems right that those who don’t want to be vaccinated should be required to be vaccinated, because vaccines don’t always work...And to whatever extent vaccines are being required because the “immune suppressed” cannot be vaccinated, and are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of disease, while my heart goes out to such people, they are not more important than children who are harmed by vaccines. Nor should the notion that vaccination may in itself be creating immune suppression be left out of this equation...Besides there is documented proof of outbreaks in 100% vaccinated populations. Now, whose fault is that?" ►February 29, 2004 - Parents lobby to ease immunization laws - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - "The same vaccines that many credit with ushering in a public health miracle were a curse to 4-year-old Caleb Mueller, his father believes...Keith Mueller of Kansas City blames a batch of state-mandated vaccines with causing a severe allergic reaction in his son when the boy was just over 1. Today, the father is certain that his son's autism is tied to the shots, as well...Mueller is joining several parents rights advocates this year to support bills in the Missouri Legislature that would make it easier for parents to exclude their children from immunizations." ►The Exemption Debate - West Virginians For Vaccination Exemptions ►March 1, 2004 - Parents of Vaccine Injured Children Support West Virginia Religious Exemption - NVIC ►March 8, 2004 - Letters
to the Editor (opinion) - Many younger physicians less willing to get out of
bed at 2 a.m. - Superhero-style dedication not the only way to practice good
medicine - Work force planning requires looking at both the number and
distribution of physicians - Primary care doctors need to ask patients about
restless leg syndrome - www.ama-assn.org ►March 1, 2004 - IRS Allows Weight-Loss Tax Deduction - AP via Yahoo! ►February 2004 - Drug-Endangered Children - FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin via www.mhnet.org ►March 4, 2004 - As we get older, it's time to keep moving - The Star ►March 5, 2004 - In future, organs will be made to order - The Australian ►March 3, 2004 - Dad's Work Cuts Into His Role in Kid's Health Care - HealthDay via Yahoo! - "Fathers who want to be more involved in their children's health care find work is the biggest barrier to being able to attend their kids' doctor visits, says new research." ►March 2004 -
Not All Child Safety Seats Are Created Equal: The Potential Dangers of Shield
Booster Seats - journal article
(Pediatrics) ►March 2, 2004 - Study: Anti-Bacterial Soaps Don't Deliver - AP via The Herald-Sun ►March 2, 2004 - Study: U.S. May Get Pediatrician Surplus - AP via The Herald-Sun ►February 29, 2004 - Problems of modern children often take a back seat to the seemingly more urgent problems of adults - Growing up pains - Times Leader ►March 1, 2004 - CDC Says Ads Getting Kids to Play Outside - AP via The Herald-Sun ►March 2, 2004 - Test May Be Safer Way to Detect Fetal Problems - Reuters via Yahoo! About research/science, research in general/research conduct ►March 5, 2004 - Scientist says no study yet proving GMO safety - www.sunstar.com.ph - "Traavik, who is based at the University of Tromso in Norway, admitted that there are not enough studies on the safety of GMOs, even from independent scientists, as the studies entail huge costs...He said the United States-based Monsanto Company, producer of the Bt corn, have presented supposed findings on the safety of their products, but he pointed out that the findings were 'not scientifically substantiated'...'If you look at their (study) design, they were more on the productional elements. There were no studies on what happened to the bodies of the scientists exposed to them,' he said." ►March 3, 2004 - Estrogen Study Stopped Early Because of Slight Stroke Risk (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "A large federal study of estrogen therapy in postmenopausal women has been stopped a year ahead of schedule because the estrogen increased the risk of stroke and offered no protection against heart disease, the government announced yesterday...The study included only women taking estrogen alone, not those who take combined hormones. An earlier study, halted abruptly in 2002 after the researchers found an increased risk of breast cancer, involved only women taking the combined hormones estrogen and progestin...But health officials also noted that the increased risk was small, estimated at about eight extra strokes per year for every 10,000 women taking estrogen." Comment: Contrast this situation with what is happening re: vaccine-associated adverse reactions. Why, given the far greater number of vaccine-associated deaths and injuries, hasn't vaccination been halted? There have been over 125,000, probably representing between 1 and 12 million, adverse vaccine-associated reactions. When it comes to vaccinations, enough never seems to be enough. For more on this go to Scandals: Infant Vaccine Deaths - But Who's Counting? (No news is NOT good news.), Scandals: Vaccine-related infant deaths - When is enough, enough?, and Scandals: Avoidance Of Vaccine Truth But Not Consequences - Are We "Knee Deep in the Big Muddy"? ►March 5, 2004 - Promise,
peril and progress - The Washington Times - "Ever since they were discovered
by scientists, embryonic stem cells have been thought to hold both distinct
moral peril and great medical promise — that they might one day be used to cure
diseases like Parkinson's and juvenile diabetes — but at the cost of devaluing
the sacred gift of life. Those dilemmas framed President Bush's August 2001
decision to restrict federal funding of such research to a limited number of
stem-cell lines. However, the policy needs re-evaluation in the light of recent
circumstances." ►March 4, 2004 - "Triple
Swap" Kidney Transplant Operation a Success - Johns Hopkins Medical
Institutions via Newswise ►March 4, 2004 -
Antibacterial Products Don't Reduce Infection Symptoms -
Annals of Internal Medicine via Ivanhoe
(The) Wacky World of Changing/Conflicting Research Results ►March 4, 2004 - Doubts about the bedside jug of water - Times Online, UK ►March 3, 2004 - Groups Urging No Antibiotics for Earaches - AP via The Herald-Sun - "Parents of cranky children with ear infections be warned: Antibiotics may no longer be what the doctor orders. Two leading medical groups are expected to recommend this spring that doctors stop treating most ear infections in children with antibiotics, federal health officials said Tuesday...The move contradicts years of pediatric practice and is expected to disappoint weary parents of whimpering, infected toddlers...About half of all antibiotics prescribed to preschool children are for treating ear infections. Health officials believe if they can reduce child antibiotic use for such infections, they can stop the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs created by overuse of the drugs...'It will mark a dramatic change in appropriate antibiotic use,' said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the meningitis and special pathogens branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
►March 4, 2004 -
Abandoned
HRT study in US is no cause for alarm, local experts say -
www.smh.com.au - "Adverse health outcomes
might have shut down a major study of hormone replacement therapy this week but
Australian experts say the good news relating to the treatment outweighs the
bad." Comment: Contrast this situation with what is happening re: vaccine-associated adverse reactions. Why, given the far greater number of vaccine-associated deaths and injuries, hasn't vaccination been halted? There have been over 125,000, probably representing between 1 and 12 million, adverse vaccine-associated reactions. When it comes to vaccinations, enough never seems to be enough. For more on this go to Scandals: Infant Vaccine Deaths - But Who's Counting? (No news is NOT good news.), Scandals: Vaccine-related infant deaths - When is enough, enough?, and Scandals: Avoidance Of Vaccine Truth But Not Consequences - Are We "Knee Deep in the Big Muddy"? ►March 2, 2004 - Researchers Halt Hormone Therapy Trial - Reuters - "The National Institutes of Health said on Tuesday it had stopped a trial of women taking estrogen replacement therapy after finding the pills not only failed to improve their health but also may have slightly raised the risk of strokes...It was the second broad trial of hormone replacement therapy to have been halted in two years." ►February 27, 2004 -
HRT risks 'were known
years ago' - Women could have been told about the risks of taking hormone
replacement therapy years ago. - BBC Adverse reactions/VAERS (includes non-vaccine-related) ►March 4, 2004 -
Group Seeks Ban of Anti-Cholesterol Drug - AP via Yahoo! ►March 3, 2004 - Anti-depressants 'cause bleeding' - Elderly people and those with a history of bleeding disorders have been warned of the risk of taking certain types of anti-depressants. - BBC Changing epidemiology/serotypes/resistance ►March 4, 2004 - Doctors and Patients Start to Curb Use of Antibiotics (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "The inappropriate use of antibiotics has led illness-causing microbes to become resistant to such drugs. Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem throughout the world and is particularly common among the bacteria that cause ear and respiratory infections." ►March 2004 -
Decrease of Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Children Among 8 Children's
Hospitals in the United States After the Introduction of the 7-Valent
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine - journal article
(Pediatrics) - "Conclusions. Since the
introduction of the PCV7, the number of invasive pneumococcal
infections caused by vaccine-serogroup isolates among 8 US children’s
hospitals has decreased >75% among children
Comment: For more on this problem of serotype replacement, go to Scandals: Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?. ►March 2, 2004 - Bacteria Run Wild, Defying Antibiotics (requires registration or subscription) - "A new chapter in the continuing story of antibiotic resistance is being written in doctors' offices across the country, as a group of common bacteria rapidly becomes resistant to the antibiotics that have been used to treat them for decades...The bacteria are called Staphylococcus aureus, or staph for short. Staph are the most common cause of skin infections like boils and can also cause lung infections, bloodstream infections and abscesses in the body's internal organs...In hospitalized patients, infections caused by antibiotic-resistant staph have been common for years. Among healthy people, though, antibiotic resistance in staph has not been a big problem. Since the 1970's, doctors have routinely, and successfully, treated staph infections in healthy patients with penicillin-like drugs...Not anymore. Office doctors who follow this practice now may find their patients getting sicker instead of better." Comment: It's not easy to fool Mother Nature. Are we creating the same problem with overuse of vaccines that we have with overuse of antibiotics? For more on this, click here. ►February 25, 1999 - Antimicrobial Resistance: The NIH Response to a Growing Problem - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health ►March 4, 2004 - New combination vaccine can cut down number of inoculations for babies - CNA via www.channelnewsasia.com Contaminants - vaccine & other/blood/environment ingredients/additives & contaminants
►March 3, 2004 -
Red Cross
Examines Blood Supply After Hepatitis Case - Some Donors Ate At Taco Bell
With Infected Employee -
www.thechamplainchannel.com Disease in general, including chronic disease/emerging disease/public health/health care in general
►March 3, 2004 - Animal
Diseases Threaten Humans - Atlanta Journal-Constitution via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) Comment: What, if any, role my vaccination play in the emergence of new diseases? For more on this, go to Scandals: Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?
►March 2, 2004 -
Health experts
laud the old-fashioned quarantine (requires registration) - Knight Ridder
via The Charlotte Observer - "The
best hope for stopping epidemics of infectious diseases, public health experts
said Monday, may be a long-neglected tool: quarantining people...When modern
medicine couldn't come up with antibiotics, vaccines and effective treatments
against the contagious respiratory disease SARS last year, Canada and Asia
dusted off quarantine laws and isolated more than 200,000 people. That stopped
the disease." Effectiveness/herd immunity/coverage
►March 2, 2004 - Vaccinating
children protects adults as well - American Society for Microbiology via
www.eurekalert.org - "Since the approval
of a vaccine against pneumococcal bacteria for young children in 2000, there has
not only been a drop in the incidence of severe disease caused these bacteria in
children but also a significant decline in the disease in adults. Researchers
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report their results today
in two studies at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious
Diseases...'We were pretty confident when we recommended this vaccine for
children it would help them,' says Cynthia Whitney, a researcher on both
studies. 'What was a pretty pleasant surprise was the amount of benefit we've
seen in unvaccinated populations.'"
►February 2004 - Do We Spend Too
Much on Immunizations? - Health Care Policy Center, Independence Institute
►March 2, 2004 -
Women found twice as susceptible to lung cancer -
www.newsday.com ►March 2, 2004 - Study examines whether giving good bacteria reduces infections - Medical College of Georgia via www.eurekalert.org - "Whether giving good bacteria that normally helps keep the intestinal tract and immune system healthy can reduce infections in intensive-care patients is the focus of a new clinical study at the Medical College of Georgia...'When people are admitted to intensive care on broad-spectrum antibiotics, we know that 25 to 40 percent of them will get an infection with a resistant bacteria during their stay,' says Dr. Robert G. Martindale, gastrointestinal surgeon, nutritionist and principal investigator on the new study...As the name indicates, these antibiotics are designed to protect patients from infection by a broad range of agents. However, they also can wipe out the natural bacterial flora in the intestinal tract, a disruption with widespread consequences including making the intestinal lining more susceptible to bacterial invasion, impacting the health of colon cells and disarming the immune system." Comment: And if it is true that antibiotics also impair the immune system, this could well be a recipe of disaster. (See Overuse: More Harm Than Good - Antibiotics May Lower Immune System.) ►February 27, 2004 - Microbiology. We get by with a little help from our (little) friends - journal article (Science) abstract ►March 2, 2004 - Study examines whether giving good bacteria reduces infections - Medical College of Georgia via www.eurekalert.org ►March 3, 2004 - Changes in immune system cause diseases: expert - The Navhind Times - "The former vice-chancellor of Manipal University and noted cardiologist, Prof B M Hegde, delivering the third Dr Emidio Afonso memorial lecture, said that diseases are created by changing the immune system of a living body and only human mind can prove to be the most powerful immune-booster...Prof Hegde, speaking before a gathering on the topic ‘Human immune system (A new look)’, at a special function organised by Dr Emidio Afonso Memorial Trust, in the city today, said that fruits, vegetables, proteins, hyperimmune sera, vaccinations, Ayurveda, exercise and social support can also supplement the human mind as the immune-boosters. “The trace minerals can also play a vital role in immune system,” he maintained...Any medicine, any tablet can provide relief to a person for a restricted time-span; however the same turns out to be a poison after its constant and uninterrupted use, he observed." ►March 1, 2004 - Fat cells may help fight disease - UPI via The Washington Times ►2004 - Red Wine Maintains Immune System - www.about.com
►March 3, 2004 -
School
Program Curbs Teen Suicide Attempts: Study - Reuters via Yahoo! ►March 3, 2004 - Analysis:
More vaccine makers needed - UPI via
http://interestalert.com - "Health officials say the recommendation that
doctors withhold doses of a childhood vaccine because of shortages underscores
the need for more pharmaceutical companies to enter the vaccine-making
field...In a hastily assembled news briefing during the 4th International
Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, officials at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention advised U.S. doctors to hold off administering the third
and fourth doses of the popular and effective vaccine that had slashed
incidences of pneumococcal disease in children."
►March 3, 2004 - U.S.
Further Rations Meningitis Vaccine - Wall Street Journal via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) ►March 3, 2004 - Current Vaccine Delays and Shortages - National Immunization Program via www.cdc.gov ►Ensuring the Safety and Security of the U.S. Medicine Supply - King Publishing Group - conference alert - April 13-14, 2004 at The George Washington University in Washington, DC ►February 29, 2004 - New Vaccine Shortage - CDC via www.about.com Testing/clinical trials/science ►March 2, 2004 - Non-Profit Experiment Tests Drug Industry's Assumptions - Financial Times via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract) - "Volunteers who enrolled at St. Louis University for a clinical trial of an experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine are among the first in a new attempt at nonprofit drug and vaccine development in the industrialized world, with not-for-profit organizations challenging the dominance held by pharmaceutical companies over the world of medicine." ►March 4, 2004 - CDC Reports That OraQuick Test Produces Fewer False Positive HIV-1 Results Than Other Available Tests - OraSure Technologies, Inc. via Business Wire Comment: Avoiding a false HIV positive result is certainly important given the regimen of toxic drugs that HIV positive people are pressured to get. ►Immunization
Tracking - Source Code and Application - Item number: 3664884194 - Starting
bid: US $5,000.00 - Ends Mar-11-04 18:40:11 PST -
www.ebay.com ►March 2, 2004 - Study suggests better use of web could improve infectious disease reporting - Penn State via www.eurekalert.org ►March 2, 2004 - New Acambis CEO Announces Four-Fold Increase in Profits - press release - Acambis plc via PRNewswire-FirstCall via Yahoo! - "In developing new vaccines against infectious diseases, Acambis is aiming to maximise the value of its products by retaining rights to those vaccines for as long as possible. This means not only developing, clinically testing and licensing the vaccines but also, where possible, manufacturing, selling and distributing the product ourselves...The first of these primarily involves the development of our two key franchises: the smallpox vaccine franchise; and the travel vaccines franchise." Vaccines in general/overview/vaccine research/vaccine safety/risk ►February 29, 2004 - 'Unless pin-up parents rally round, we will see the return of dread diseases' - comment - The Observer via The Guardian, UK - "Meet 'John' and 'Jane', pin-up parents. They insist on organic food for their toddler, bring him to the best baby group in town, buy him only all-cotton outfits from Baby Gap and won't let him watch more than three hours of television a week...Despite this perfect parenting, however, John and Jane put their child's health at risk every day. They are among the 5 per cent of British parents who have opted out of vaccinating their child." Comment: This argument rests on assuming that the epidemic of autism, the rise in chronic disease (including cancer, asthma, diabetes), and other concerns raised by so-called "pin-up parents" could have nothing to do with vaccination and have been scientifically settled. But condescension does not truth make. And buying the propaganda generated by the vaccine manufacturers as to the safety of their product does not prevent harm from being done. To the contrary, if these parents are right, it merely serves to perpetuate and compound the damage. ►March 1, 2004 - Vaccinations: Irrational fear isn't confined to Third World - editorial - The Dallas Morning News - "Polio is back in northern Nigeria, thanks to a conspiracy theory spread by some Muslim clerics. They're telling their people that a United Nations vaccine program is part of a Western plot to render their women infertile. African children will be left crippled because of such barbaric nonsense, and a dread disease that could have been eradicated by scientists will live to maim countless others...But before we start feeling too superior to the superstitious Nigerians, let's consider how vulnerable our own irrational fears of vaccines leave our population to potentially calamitous outbreaks of disease." Comment: It's only an irrational fear if you dismiss or ignore the evidence against vaccines. Newsletter Archives - use this link to access old newsletters, including those whose links may have changed Return to Vaccination News Home Page (for best results, right click to "open in new window") DISCLAIMER: All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided here is for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as reflecting the knowledge or opinions of the publisher, and is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important and complex issue and should be made by you, and you alone, in consultation with your health care provider.
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24 months old. In addition, penicillin
resistance decreased in 2002 for the first time since our surveillance
began in 1993–1994. However, we have noted that replacement may
be developing with serogroups 15 and 33. Furthermore, penicillin
resistance seems to be increasing among nonvaccine serogroups.
Surveillance must be continued to detect the emergence of changes in
the distribution of serotypes as well as antibiotic susceptibility."