FW: vaccine article -Money magazine (part 2)

[Guest guest]

>

>Even though SV-40 was being screened out, scientists

>such as

> , a professor of pathology at the University

>of

> Southern California, warned that other monkey viruses

>could be

> dangerous. But government officials rebuffed 's

>attempt to

> research those risks back in 1978 and again in 1995

when

>he was

> denied federal funding and vaccine samples he needed to

> investigate the effects of simian cytomegalovirus

>(SCMV), an

> organism that his studies indicate causes neurological

>disorders

> in the human brain. The virus has been found in monkeys

>used for

> polio vaccine production. Similarly, Cecil H. Fox was

>also

> rebuffed when, as a senior scientist at the National

>Institutes

> of Health in 1988, he asked to examine archived lots of

>polio

> vaccine to learn whether they contained simian

>immunodeficiency

> virus (SIV), which has been screened out of polio

>vaccines since

> 1987 because of potential human impact. " The resistance

>of those

> in authority to face the issue of prior vaccine

>contamination is

> particularly unfortunate, " says , " because

>research

> establishing a viral cause for neurological disorders

or

>cancers

> can lead to effective antiviral treatments. "

>

> Beginning in 1992, scientific evidence supporting fears

>about

> prior contamination began to mount. Studies suggested

>that SV-40

> was a catalyst for many types of cancer, not only in

>people who

> had received polio vaccine containing the virus but in

>their

> children as well.

>

> In a series of papers published from 1992 through 1996,

>Michele

> Carbone, a molecular pathologist at Chicago's Loyola

>University

> Medical Center, examined the same types of tumors in

>humans that

> were known to develop in hamsters exposed to SV-40. He

> discovered SV-40 genes and proteins in 60% of patients

>with

> mesothelioma, a particularly deadly form of lung

cancer,

>and in

> 38% of those with bone cancer. His most recent

research,

> presented at a medical conference in July, connects

>SV-40 and

> these cancers even more clearly by describing the

>mechanism

> through which SV-40 turns a cell cancerous. Carbone's

>research

> shows that SV-40 switches off a protein that protects

>cells from

> becoming malignant. Not everyone who is infected with

>SV-40 gets

> cancer for the same reason that not every smoker gets

>lung

> cancer: A variety of assaults on the immune system

>usually

> combine to trigger malignancy. But SV-40 could be a

>factor that

> predisposes some people to develop tumors of the brain,

>bone,

> and tissue that surrounds the lung.

>

> Now, in what could be a crucial piece of the puzzle, a

>study by

> Italian researchers published in October in the U.S.

>medical

> journal Cancer Research suggests that the reason all

>three

> cancers are on the rise is that the SV-40, originally

>introduced

> to humans through polio vaccine, is now being spread

>sexually

> and from mother to child in the womb. The study found

>SV-40

> present in the blood and semen of 25% of healthy study

>subjects.

> According to one of the study's authors, biology and

>genetics

> professor Mauro Tognon of Italy's University of

>Ferrara's School

> of Medicine, this would explain why SV-40 was detected

>from 1992

> on in the brain tumors of children who were born after

>1965 and

> therefore presumably did not receive vaccine containing

>SV-40.

> Tognon also points to SV-40 as one possible reason for

>the 30%

> increase in U.S. brain tumors over the past 20 years.

>

> Strickler, senior clinical investigator at the

>National

> Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute, told

>MONEY

> that the federal government is taking recent reports

>about SV-40

> very seriously. " They are plausible, but it's not a

done

>deal, "

> Strickler said.

>

> The accumulating body of evidence from research around

>the world

> has heightened the fears many scientists have expressed

>for

> years about the dangers of using monkey tissue in

>vaccine

> production, particularly when there are safer

>alternatives

> available. " There's no question that our polio vaccines

>should

> be made exclusively with killed viruses grown on human

>diploid

> tissue, " says Urnovitz, a microbiologist in

>Berkeley.

>

> Connaught uses human diploid cells to produce Poliovax,

>the

> inactivated polio vaccine it manufactures and markets

in

>Canada.

> The company is licensed to sell Poliovax in the U.S.

but

>now

> markets Ipol here, a vaccine grown on monkey tissue.

> " Ipol is

> the more widely used vaccine, and it was a company

>decision [to

> continue selling it here] based on what best meets the

>needs of

> the U.S. market, " Connaught's Grant told

>MONEY.

>

> The FDA is equally dismissive of the potential dangers.

>

> Patriarca, deputy director of the division of viral

>products at

> the FDA, says he sees no need to stop producing polio

>vaccines

> with monkey tissue.

>

> Government thinking is best summed up by Neal Halsey,

>who is a

> member of advisory committees on immunization practices

>at both

> the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Halsey

>cautioned

> MONEY against " raising a hypothetical concern that

could

> jeopardize vaccine supply. If it were a real concern,

>the FDA

> wouldn't allow the production of vaccine on monkey

>tissue. " That

> viewpoint, of course, overlooks the fact that the FDA

>allowed

> the production of polio vaccine that contained SV-40,

>SIV and

> SCMV, with human health consequences that are just

>beginning to

> be understood.

>

> MOVES THAT MUST BE MADE RIGHT NOW

>

> Evaluating the safety record of vaccines such as DPT

and

>polio

> is especially important in light of the vaccine

>industry's

> explosive growth. According to Frost & Sullivan, a

>technology

> market research firm in Mountain View, Calif., current

>worldwide

> revenues of nearly $3 billion are expected to more than

>double

> to $7 billion over the next five years as scores of new

>vaccines

> come to market. The industry is no longer focused

>primarily on

> life-threatening diseases, or on children but wants to

>introduce

> adult vaccines like those in the research pipeline to

>fight

> herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases.

>

> What can be done in our interest? Much of the necessary

>change

> involves reforms in public health policy. In a joint

>effort with

> doctors and scientists, the government should:

>

> --Ban dangerous products. To immediately improve the

>safety of

> existing vaccines, we must use only acellular DPT

>vaccines and

> inactivated polio vaccines. And we must discontinue use

>of

> monkey tissue in the production of all vaccines. Cost

>should not

> be a factor. " To avoid even a small risk of brain

damage

>or

> death, what mother wouldn't pay even $50 more for a

>safer

> vaccine, " says Victor Harding, a Milwaukee attorney who

>has

> represented parents of children harmed by vaccines.

>

> --Expand research. " We want to see scientific proof

that

>you

> know precisely what is happening in the human body when

>you give

> vaccines to our babies, " says Barbara Loe Fisher,

>co-founder and

> president of the National Vaccine Information Center.

>She and

> other experts recommend that the NIH take half of the

>$415

> million spent on promoting immunization and new vaccine

>research

> and allocate it to studies investigating the

>cause-and-effect

> relationship between existing vaccines and immune and

> neurological disorders suspected to result from their

>use. An

> Institute of Medicine committee appointed to evaluate

>vaccine

> safety in 1994 noted that its analysis had been

hampered

>by lack

> of such studies. Out of 59 health problems suspected to

>be

> associated with a variety of vaccines, the committee

>found that

> no scientific studies had been conducted on 40 of them

>(see the

> table on page 157 for a list of the key risks). To aid

>such

> evaluations, experts want the FDA and manufacturers to

>provide

> samples of current and archived vaccines to independent

> researchers.

>

> --Stop hiding facts. When federal health officials and

> pediatricians refrain from warning the public about

>risks out of

> fear that parents will stop immunizing their children,

>they

> insult parents' intelligence and endanger the public's

>health.

> Parents deserve the facts so they can make informed

>choices.

> Geneticist and former NIH researcher Mark Geier says

>that when

> he speaks out publicly about vaccine risks or testifies

>on

> behalf of vaccine-damaged children, he is frequently

>criticized

> by other physicians. Says Geier: " They agree privately

>that what

> I say is accurate but warn that if I'm not careful,

I'll

>scare

> people away from taking vaccines. That's certainly not

>my

> goal--my own kids are vaccinated. But if you operate on

>the

> premise that you can't tell the public about problems

>with

> vaccines because you'll scare them away, then

>unfortunately, the

> problems don't get fixed. "

>

> [sIDEBAR]

>

> HOW TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE

>

> To ensure that your child gets the benefits of

>immunization

> while minimizing the risks, follow these steps:

>

> --BE ASSERTIVE. Request that your child receive the

>inactivated

> polio vaccine, which is given as a shot rather than

>orally, and

> the acellular form of DPT. Tell your doctor what you

>want well

> before you come in for your appointment so he or she

can

>get the

> vaccines in stock.

>

> --BE INFORMED. Ask to see government " benefit/risk

>information "

> on each vaccine before your child is immunized. And

>discuss with

> your doctor any reason your child might be at

particular

>risk.

> Possible risk factors: a personal or family history of

>seizures

> or neurological disorders, immune system disorders or

>previous

> bad reactions to vaccines. Also, if your child has a

>cold or

> other illness, immunization should be delayed because

>the risk

> of an adverse reaction is higher when the immune system

>is

> already under assault from another virus or bacterium.

>

> --BE CAUTIOUS. Your doctor should explain what symptoms

>to watch

> for--such as high fever or high-pitched screaming--that

>might

> indicate a serious reaction. Monitor your child closely

>after

> vaccination, and call your doctor if you suspect a

>problem. " If

> your doctor is not concerned and you still are, take

the

>child

> to an emergency room, " advises Barbara Loe Fisher of

the

> National Vaccine Information Center, a nonprofit

>organization in

> Vienna, Va. that provides vaccine safety information to

> consumers and assists those who have suffered adverse

>reactions.

> For more safety tips, or to learn your legal rights if

>your

> child is injured by a vaccine, you can call the

>organization

> at 800-909-SHOT. --A.R.

>

> [sIDEBAR]

>

> MORE VACCINE HEALTH RISKS THAT MUST BE CHECKED OUT

>

> In addition to the vaccine-related problems disclosed

in

>the

> accompanying article, many other risks have been

>discovered

> through lab experiments and random cases reported by

>victims or

> doctors. The government and the medical community,

>however, have

> failed to follow up these findings with the

>comprehensive

> studies that could prove a definite causal link between

>the

> vaccine and the disease. A " controlled clinical trial "

>is

> considered the gold standard of scientific inquiry, and

> " controlled observational studies " rank as the next

>best.

> According to the Institute of Medicine, a private,

>nonprofit

> organization for the examination of health policy

>matters,

> neither method of inquiry has been used to check out

any

> definitive connection between the medical problems

>listed in

> this table and the vaccines that preliminary scientific

>research

> suggests can cause them.

>

> Vaccine DPT

>

> Problem

> Encephalopathy (inflammation of the brain resulting in

>loss of

> consciousness that can range from stupor to coma);

>demyelinating

> diseases of the central nervous system (infections of

>linings

> around nerve cells that can cause problems such as

>muscle

> weakness and blurred vision); Guillain-Barre syndrome

>(nerve

> condition characterized by numbness and weakness of the

>limbs);

> anaphylaxis (severe and sometimes fatal allergic

>reaction)

>

> [Vaccine] Measles

>

> [Problem]

> Epilepsy; optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic

>nerve that

> causes blurred vision and can be an early sign of

>multiple

> sclerosis); transverse myelitis (spinal cord disease);

> Guillain-Barre syndrome; death from vaccine strain

viral

>infection

>

> [Vaccine] Mumps

>

> [Problem]

> Encephalopathy; aseptic meningitis (inflammation of

>membranes

> covering the brain, causing fever, headaches, stiffness

>in the

> neck, drowsiness and sometimes loss of consciousness);

> sensorineural deafness; sterility; thrombocytopenia (a

>reduction

> in the number of platelets in the blood, manifested by

a

>rash,

> nosebleeds, a tendency to bruise easily and prolonged

>bleeding

> from cuts)

>

> [Vaccine] Oral polio

>

> [Problem]

> Transverse myelitis; death from vaccine strain viral

>infection

>

> [Vaccine] Hepatitis B

>

> [Problem]

> Guillain-Barre syndrome; demyelinating diseases of the

>central

> nervous system; arthritis

>

> [sIDEBAR]

>

> DECEPTIVE NUMBERS AND DANGEROUS DECISIONS

>

> Since 1990, doctors have been required by law to report

>all

> adverse vaccine reactions through a centralized federal

>system

> overseen by the Food and Drug Administration and the

>Centers for

> Disease Control. But they frequently fail to do

>so--either

> because they don't recognize that a subsequent health

>problem is

> related to a vaccination, or they consider it

relatively

> harmless. From 1991 through August 1996, 48,743 adverse

> reactions were reported. Unfortunately, those figures

>represent

> only a small portion of the dangers. For example, a

1995

>CDC

> study found that reporting rates were less than 1% for

>serious

> reactions such as loss of consciousness after a DPT

>shot. A 1994

> survey of doctors' offices in seven states, conducted

by

>the

> National Vaccine Information Center, found that only 28

>of 159

> offices said they file a report after a patient has an

>adverse

> reaction to a vaccine.

>

> Underreporting is an important problem because those

>figures are

> what the FDA relies on to identify exceptionally

>dangerous lots

> of vaccine. When doctors don't report harmful effects,

>there is

> little chance a " hot lot " can be identified early in

its

>market

> life and recalled before more children are hurt. What's

>more,

> unfortunately, even with timely reporting, the FDA is

>reluctant

> to act. For example, the lot that killed

>Silvermintz

> produced exactly 70 adverse reactions, including nine

> deaths--yet was never taken off the market. Why? " This

>lot did

> have a relatively large reporting rate for serious and

>fatal

> reactions, " Marcel Salive, chief of the FDA's

>epidemiology

> branch, told MONEY, " but there were other lots of

>vaccine of

> smaller size that had higher numbers of reports in

those

> categories, so it was felt no action was needed. "

>

> What does it take to get action? No horror is enough,

> apparently. Salive confirms that no lot has been

>recalled

> because of adverse effects since the centralized

>reporting

> system was set in place six years ago. --A.R.

>

>

>

>

> " was the first of nine kids to die after shots

>from the

> same batch of DPT vaccine. It stayed on the market a

>full year. "

>

> " Health officials were aware that the oral vaccine they

> recommended would cause about 10 cases of polio each

>year. But

> they considered those human sacrifices to be

>acceptable. "

>

> " Why should there be any polio victims when the

injected

>vaccine

> is just as effective as the oral--and doesn't cause

>polio? The

> answer is that it all comes down to money. "

>

> " Fears grow about using monkey tissue to make vaccines.

>Studies

> suggest that one monkey virus that contaminated polio

>vaccines

> has been a catalyst for cancer in humans. "

>

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