Re: [Fwd: Merck Childhood Vaccine Recalled]

[Guest guest]

From the article....

" Dougherty could not immediately say whether the contamination seen at

the factory involves a virus or bacteria. "

I have sometimes wondered if a CONTAMINATED vaccine was given to our

kids causing the severe viral infections we are dealing with.

--- In , Doris and Steve <sjsmith@...>

wrote:

>

>

> **Common Children's Vaccine Recalled**

>

> By MIKE STOBBE & ndash; 50 minutes ago

> http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGAbaEn2I-

4TEgFdrye5Hx4h9RbwD8TG6BLG2

>

>

> ATLANTA (AP) & mdash; More than a million doses of a common vaccine

> given to babies as young as two months was being recalled Wednesday

> because of contamination risks, but the top U.S. health official

said

> it was not a health threat.

>

> The recall is for 1.2 million doses of the vaccine for Hib, which

> protects against meningitis, pneumonia and other serious infections,

> and a combination vaccine for Hib and hepatitis B. The vaccine is

> recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given in a

> three-shot series, starting at two months.

>

> Drug maker Merck & Co., which announced the recall after testing

> showed a sterilization problem in a Pennsylvania factory, said

> concerned parents should contact their child's doctor.

>

> " The potential for contamination of any individual vaccine is low, "

> said Merck spokeswoman Dougherty.

>

> Dr. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and

> Prevention, echoed that in a news conference.

>

> " This is not a health threat in the short run, but it is an

> inconvenience, " she said.

>

> Dougherty could not immediately say whether the contamination seen

at

> the factory involves a virus or bacteria. She said if someone were

> vaccinated with a contaminated shot, " There is a risk they could

> develop an infection. " But she did not provide more details.

>

> The recall is likely to heighten a debate over childhood vaccines

and

> their safety and whether too many are required. Some parents are

> distrustful and suspect some vaccines of being linked to autism,

> although scientific studies have not shown such a connection.

>

> This week New Jersey took a controversial step toward becoming the

> first state to require flu shots for preschoolers after a health

> advisory board backed new vaccine requirements over opposition from

> parents.

>

> Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., is one of the few drug

> makers that produces a significant number of vaccines.

>

> While the company took a black eye with its September 2004

withdrawal

> of the painkiller Vioxx due to increased risk of heart attacks and

> strokes, the company has been performing well recently. On Tuesday,

> it gave an upbeat assessment in its annual briefing for analysts.

>

> Five weeks ago, Merck reached a deal to settle up to 50,000 Vioxx

> lawsuits for $4.85 billion, an amount expected to save the company

> millions in trial costs.

>

> Its stock price has more than recovered from its post-Vioxx slump, a

> two-year-old restructuring plan is going well and profits are up.

For

> example, Merck posted a 62 percent increase in its third-quarter

> profit as revenues jumped by double digits.

>

> Associated Press Business Writer A. contributed to

this

> report.

>

[Guest guest]

I've always wondered about this. My son was ill between surgeries three years

ago and I took him to the hospital for a severe headache. The ER doctor drew

blood cultures as well as other labs on him.

A few days later the report read positive for Bacillus sp. in his blood.

Everyone agreed that it was probably a cross contamination?? Well, the sample

was sent out to the Mayo Clinic's Lab, and he did test postitive again for gram

positive Bacillus sp., unable to speciate biochemically or by DNA sequencing.

When we saw the infectious disease doctors at Hopkins, that week they also said

that bacillus grew out of his blood culture there. They also decided that it

must be a contaminated sample, just not sure how he could have gotten this ?? At

the time we were fighting MRSA meningitis, so this took precident over anything

else.

I have always wondered if he got the Bacillus through vaccinations because I can

tell you that after his HIB and MMR on the same day he has never been well

again.

is always best on an antibiotic, has fevers off, and his mental status

changes dramatically. We are seeing a specialist now who wants him off

antibiotics for, at least three weeks and then we'll draw blood cultures again

to see if anything grows out.

I remember reading once a while ago about Bacillus tainted vaccines but I can't

find the article now.

My friend who's a peditrician wants to see if any of his vaccine lots were

recalled due to contamination.

Anyway, it's always been something that I thought about and this week it all

came back to me again.

@...: meljackmom@...: Thu, 13 Dec 2007

13:20:31 +0000Subject: Re: [Fwd: Merck Childhood Vaccine Recalled]

From the article.... " Dougherty could not immediately say whether the

contamination seen atthe factory involves a virus or bacteria. " I have sometimes

wondered if a CONTAMINATED vaccine was given to our kids causing the severe

viral infections we are dealing with.>> > **Common Children's Vaccine Recalled**>

> By MIKE STOBBE & ndash; 50 minutes ago>

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGAbaEn2I-4TEgFdrye5Hx4h9RbwD8TG6BLG2> > >

ATLANTA (AP) & mdash; More than a million doses of a common vaccine> given to

babies as young as two months was being recalled Wednesday> because of

contamination risks, but the top U.S. health official said> it was not a health

threat.> > The recall is for 1.2 million doses of the vaccine for Hib, which>

protects against meningitis, pneumonia and other serious infections,> and a

combination vaccine for Hib and hepatitis B. The vaccine is> recommended for all

children under 5 and is usually given in a> three-shot series, starting at two

months.> > Drug maker Merck & Co., which announced the recall after testing>

showed a sterilization problem in a Pennsylvania factory, said> concerned

parents should contact their child's doctor.> > " The potential for contamination

of any individual vaccine is low, " > said Merck spokeswoman Dougherty.> >

Dr. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and> Prevention,

echoed that in a news conference.> > " This is not a health threat in the short

run, but it is an> inconvenience, " she said.> > Dougherty could not immediately

say whether the contamination seen at> the factory involves a virus or bacteria.

She said if someone were> vaccinated with a contaminated shot, " There is a risk

they could> develop an infection. " But she did not provide more details.> > The

recall is likely to heighten a debate over childhood vaccines and> their safety

and whether too many are required. Some parents are> distrustful and suspect

some vaccines of being linked to autism,> although scientific studies have not

shown such a connection.> > This week New Jersey took a controversial step

toward becoming the> first state to require flu shots for preschoolers after a

health> advisory board backed new vaccine requirements over opposition from>

parents.> > Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., is one of the few drug>

makers that produces a significant number of vaccines.> > While the company took

a black eye with its September 2004 withdrawal> of the painkiller Vioxx due to

increased risk of heart attacks and> strokes, the company has been performing

well recently. On Tuesday,> it gave an upbeat assessment in its annual briefing

for analysts.> > Five weeks ago, Merck reached a deal to settle up to 50,000

Vioxx> lawsuits for $4.85 billion, an amount expected to save the company>

millions in trial costs.> > Its stock price has more than recovered from its

post-Vioxx slump, a> two-year-old restructuring plan is going well and profits

are up. For> example, Merck posted a 62 percent increase in its third-quarter>

profit as revenues jumped by double digits.> > Associated Press Business Writer

A. contributed to this> report.>