March 2005
Open Letter to Legislators and Physicians:
The foregoing information is to assist you in making an informed decision regarding the urgent need to eliminate mercury from vaccines. Scientific documentation is provided below this letter as local documents, media files or Internet links as indicated by color coding. Other statements which are opinions will be clearly marked as such.
From the perspective of a policy maker or a physician, you will want to be certain that:
1) Mercury (Thimerosal) is indeed a real problem and that there is sufficient scientific data to support this.
2) Mercury-free vaccines or those with only trace amounts are now available that would not disrupt a physician's ability to administer scheduled doses to children or adults.
The term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" is confusing in that these disorders (which include ADHD, Asperger's, PDD-NOS, and Autism) are not psychiatric problems per se, they are medical problems (toxic insults) with psychiatric (behavior) manifestations. As one can easily understand based on the presentation below, the toxic insult in most cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders is undoubtedly mercury toxicity secondary to thimerosal. Other neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood (ie. Tourettes, mental retardation, etc) and adults may have their foundations from this same insult, since mercury poisoning can have a plethora of clinical manifestations.
It is the purpose of this presentation to prove these points.
The medical profession, State Legislators and Congress must stand together and demand accountability from its peers and policy-makers. If we fail to police our own profession, we cannot reasonably complain when the crimes of a few taint the reputations of all.
Respectfully submitted,
Alan D. Clark, M.D.
Lujene G. Clark
Is Mercury in Vaccines Dangerous?
Vaccines can be important to the overall health and well-being of children. Our stance is not "anti-vaccine". The aim is to reinforce the need for safe vaccines--and we are not alone. In fact, as early as July 1999, the US Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics released a joint policy statement regarding Thimerosal declaring:
"thimerosal containing vaccines should be removed as soon as possible".
Further, in October of 200l, the Institute of Medicine - Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded the link between thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders as "biologically plausible" and stated:
"The committee recommends the use of the thimerosal-free DTaP, Hib, hepatitis B
vaccines in the United States,
despite the fact that there might be remaining supplies of
thimerosal-containing vaccine available."
They went even further by stating:
"The committee recommends that full consideration be given by appropriate
professional societies and government agencies
to removing thimerosal from vaccines administered to infants, children, or
pregnant women in the United States."
So why is thimerosal still used in vaccines? In our personal opinion, money and politics. Both are pitiful reasons to expose children to a known neurotoxin. That is why we think it is time for clearer heads and purer motives to prevail. Once you review the evidence, we believe you will concur.
Mercury is Dangerous!
Is mercury dangerous? Is it toxic? Is it harmful to children and adults? Yes, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) located in Atlanta, Georgia. They are one of the most respected authorities on toxic substances in the world and operates under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control.
The ATSDR ToxFAQs™ on mercury states in part:
"The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury."
" ... mercury can permanently damage the
brain, kidneys, and developing fetus."
"Effects on brain functioning may result in
irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory
problems."
"Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults."
"Mercury in the mother's body passes to the
fetus and may accumulate there."
"Mercury's harmful effects that may be passed
from the mother to the fetus include brain damage, mental retardation,
incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak."
"Children poisoned by mercury may develop
problems of their nervous and digestive systems, and kidney damage."
"Properly dispose of older medicines that contain mercury."
"Keep all mercury-containing medicines away
from children."
We concur with their assessment and the policy recommendations of the various entities as outlined above; Thimerosal should not be in vaccines. Unfortunately, it is still in vaccines despite the numerous recommendations since 1999. Because our federal regulatory agencies and Congress have failed to protect citizens, particularly pregnant women, infants, children and the elderly from this toxic substance, the job falls to our state elected officials to insure that vaccines do not include mercury or mercury derivatives.
Specific Toxicities of Thimerosal
After years of medical practice, many physicians and other health professionals
were indeed shocked to learn the preservative, known as Thimerosal used in most
vaccines over the years actually contained up to 25 micrograms of mercury.
Thimerosal, also known as thiomersal or merthiolate,
is 49.6% ethyl mercury by weight. Despite what some have professed, it has a
very similar toxicological profile as the dreaded methyl mercury found in water,
fish, and soil.
As a physician, I was recently shocked by the comments of a neighboring state's
chief epidemiologist who informed a state legislator who was considering a bill
to ban Thimerosal that ethyl mercury, compared to methyl mercury, was safe
because ethyl alcohol was safe and methyl alcohol wasn't. Of course, any high
school chemistry student knows better. Would this same epidemiologist take an
injection of ethyl plutonium? Of course, not.
In fact, there have been many peer-reviewed studies that addressed
Thimerosal specifically. Here are just a few highlights:
The comparative toxicology of ethyl- and methyl mercury by Magos, Brown, Sparrow, Bailey, et al published in the Archives of Toxicology (1985) 57: 260-267., has stated:
"There was little difference in the neurotoxicities of methylmercury and
ethylmercury
when effects on the dorsal root ganglia or coordination disorders were
compared."
and further:
"The neurological signs and symptoms of methyl- and ethyl mercury intoxication are identical..."
David S. Baskin, M.D., and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery published their findings regarding the Toxicity of Thimerosal in Toxicological Sciences, 2003 74 : 361-368. They concluded:
"We found that thimerosal in micromolar concentrations rapidly decreased cellular viability."
Also a recent study, published by a group of Japanese researchers in Toxicology further attest to the toxicity of Thimerosal in a study titled Effect of thimerosal, a preservative in vaccines, on intracellularCa2+ concentration of rat cerebellar neurons whereby they conclude:
"Results
indicate that thimerosal exerts some cytotoxic actions on cerebellar granule
neurons
dissociated from 2-week-old rats and its potency is almost similar to that of
methylmercury."
In a 1977 study titled Organ mercury levels in infants with omphaloceles treated with organic mercurial antiseptic by Drs. Fagan, Pritchard, Clarkson and Greenwood refers to 10 deaths among 13 infants in which thimerosal was used as a topical treatment for umbilical hernias and states that:
"The results showed that thiomersal can induce blood and organ levels of organic
mercury which
are well in excess of the minimum toxic level in adults and fetuses."
The Russians have long studied Thimerosal and published numerous peer-reviewed studies on its acute toxicity. We will discuss of few of those here. We appreciate Safe Minds sharing the translated versions. In March 1977, Dr. Mukhtarova published Late After-Effects Of The Nervous System Pathology Provoked By The Action Of Low Ethyl-Mercuric-Chloride Concentrations. They concluded:
"The pathology of the nervous system presented certain peculiarities by comparison with the early period."
"In evidence were changes in the sympatico-adrenal system function, vascular lesions of the brain after the type of transient derangements of the cerebral circulation in the vertebro-basilar basin and angiospasms, diffuse changes in the nervous system with the predominant involvement of the hypothalamic cerebral structures and in some cases psychic disturbances were on record."
The cytotoxic action of adsorbed DPT vaccine and its components on cells of the continuous L132 line raised concerns about the use of Thimerosal in another study by Kravchenko, et al from May 1982 when they state:
“The components of B. pertussis antigens and thimerosal solutions have
been found
to produce the most pronounced cytotoxic effect on the cells”.
In March 1983, Kravchenko, et al again published about the toxic effects of Thimerosal in a Russian Epidemiology journal. This one is titled The detection of toxic properties in medical biological preparations by the degree of cell damage and states:
“…thimerosal….has been found not only to render its primary toxic effect, but
also capable of changing the properties of cells.
This fact suggests that the use of thimerosal for the preservation of
medical biological preparations,
especially those intended for children, is inadmissible.”
In April 1986, Dr. Kravchenko and his colleagues published Use of a diploid cell line for detecting the toxic components in medical immunobiological preparations attesting to the acute toxicity of Thimerosal (merthiolate).
"Merthiolate had the strongest irreversible lethal effect"
So it was not surprising when Drs. Chervonskaia, Kravchenko, Runova, et al published yet another study in December 1988 titled Cytotoxic action of the chemical substances found as admixtures in medical immunobiological preparations where they noted:
"...merthiolate in admissible concentrations show the highest degree of CTA [cytotoxic action]."
But were those results seen at levels comparable to mercury-containing vaccines
used in the United States? Yes!
The study found:
"...merthiolate is toxic in a dose of 0.8 micrograms/ml"
Notice the Russian studies pre-date the 1999 concerns of the United States by more than a decade. One glaring observation is how the IOM, CDC, FDA, AAP and others are careful to craft the wording of their documents, presentations and public statements to say their assessment of "no conclusive evidence" relies on “studies” in ENGLISH. Why only English? The Japanese, through their experiences at Minamata, and the Russians have been studying and publishing, in their native languages, about the acute toxicity of mercury compounds, particularly thimerosal, for DECADES prior to our struggle with this toxic substance in the US and Europe. Given their knowledge of the scientific evidence as shown above, it is not surprising to learn it has been banned in those two countries, as well as Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. It is no longer being used in the United Kingdom as of September 2004.
An interesting sidebar, the English abstracts and/or citations of these Russian and Japanese articles are published and readily available in PubMed which is part of the National Library of Medicine. Therefore, it is highly unlikely the FDA, CDC, ATSDR, IOM, AAP and others did not know the studies existed. They apparently used semantics to differentiate between “English printed studies” and abstracts (i.e. the abstracts and/or citations were in English but the full text “study” was in the native language). We strongly suspect the June 9, 1999 Draft report of Leslie Ball, M.D. of the EPA will confirm that in their initial discussions of Thimerosal, she revealed the Japanese and Russian studies, or in the very least the existence of the abstracts. This could explain why the FDA or the CDC have refused to release, even through FOIA, this initial version of her report and why its private release to a few select individuals caused the frantic meetings at Virginia American Academy of Pediatrics office, located away from a government location to avoid the open meetings law, just prior to the joint statement of July 7, 1999 (see Hepatitis Control Report Fall 1999 )
More recently, in the year 2000, FDA scientist William Slikker states in the journal Neurotoxicolcogy:
“Thimerosal crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers and results in
appreciable mercury content in tissues including brain.”
Dr. Slikker was by no means the first to make such an assessment about ethyl
mercury. Perhaps the most recognized reference book found in many emergency
rooms and poison control centers is
The Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products
by Gosselin, Smith and Hodge, and in fact is part of our personal medical
library. In their 5th edition (1984), they made the following observations:
“...ethyl mercury derivatives are virulent neurotoxins on either acute or
chronic exposure."
"They are especially hazardous because of their volatility, their ability to
penetrate
epithelial & blood-brain barriers & their persistence in vivo."
Johanna Qvarnström and her colleagues at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University in Sweden, published an article titled Determination of Methylmercury, Ethylmercury,and Inorganic Mercury in Mouse Tissues, Following Administration of Thimerosal, by Species-Specific Isotope Dilution GC-Inductively Coupled Plasma-MS in Analytical Chemistry; 2003, 75, 4120-4124. Their study analyzed the distribution of thimerosal into the tissues of mice using a novel technique known as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) which uses radioactive isotope labeling of mercury (Hg199) to determine the distribution of mercury species transformed from standard ethyl mercury in the thimerosal. The researchers concluded that:
“...thimerosal is rapidly taken up in organs as C2H5Hg+ [ethyl mercury] after oral treatment...In general, C2H5Hg+{ethyl mercury] is considered to be converted to Hg2+ [inorganic mercury] more rapidly than CH3Hg+ [methyl mercury]."
One reason, according to the authors, is that the ethyl mercury carbon bond is less stable than that of methyl mercury. This is good evidence of the enhanced toxicity of ethyl mercury (in thimerosal) as opposed to methyl mercury (found in fish, soil and water sources).
Thimerosal damages DNA. This fact has been well documented in lab samples (in vitro) and in animals (in vivo). A very good source which compiles much of this research can be seen in a study by Dr. Westphal and colleagues done in Göttingen Germany titled Thimerosal induces micronuclei in the cytochalasin B block micronucleus test with human lymphocytes. This study published in 2003 in the Archives of Toxicology studied whether or not the known genotoxic (DNA damaging) effects of thimerosal were dependent upon any protective effect of individuals with higher levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST) which is one of the body's defenses against thimerosal. Some individuals with genetic changes (polymorphisms) do not make as much GST and might be more susceptible to DNA damage from thimerosal. However, this study concluded that:
"...thimerosal induced strong [DNA damaging] effects in...human lymphocytes. Since thimerosal was repeatedly shown to be genotoxic in vitro and in vivo, there is reason for concern about its widespread use."
Since vaccines with thimerosal have been known to contain up to 50 micrograms/ml, genotoxic effects could be seen at the injection sites. Westphal found toxicity to DNA occurs at 0.6 micrograms/ml. This should be sufficient reason to ban its use in vaccines.
Thimerosal is also immunotoxic, meaning it can damage the immune system. There
is a plethora of scientific evidence of this, such as
Induction of Autoimmunity Through Bystander Effects -
Lessons from Immunological Disorders Induced by Heavy Metals
by Gilbert J. Fournié and his colleagues at Institut National de la Santé et de
la Recherche Médicale in Toulouse, France which found:
"...compounds present in vaccines such as thiomersal ...can trigger autoimmune reactions through bystander effects."
One of the most respected researchers in Europe studying metal allergies and individual susceptibility to metals is Dr. Vera Stejskal, Associate Professor of Immunology in the Department of Clinical Chemistry at Danderyd Hospital and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Professor Vera Stejskal has developed MELISA®, a scientifically-proven blood test which can diagnose metal allergy. She has also published extensively on the adverse effects of metals on the human body. The MELISA® test is available in the United States. In Dr. Stejskal's 1999 paper published in Neuroendocrinology Letters titled The role of metals in autoimmunity and the link to neuroendocrinology she stated:
“In contrast to the toxic effects of metals, the concentration of the metal
in a sensitized individual is of minor importance.”
“Minute concentrations of an allergen can
induce systemic reactions in sensitized individuals.”
”In such a situation, metal induced
inflammatory reactions in the brain or elsewhere could be triggered despite low
concentrations detected in body fluids or locally.”
In Dr. Stejskal's 1994 paper, titled MELISA - An In Vitro Tool For The Study Of Metal Allergy she describes how to diagnose allergy to various mercury compounds such as thimerosal, phenyl mercury and inorganic mercury. Since these mercurials are immunologically non-cross reacting, it is possible by MELISA® not only to determine the existence of mercury allergy but also the source of sensitization. The study concludes in part:
“…mercury-based bactericidal agents…should be replaced with non-mercury preservatives.”
Although there are several thousand articles in the medical literature documenting the toxicity of mercury and Thimerosal (49.6% ethyl mercury), the study that set off warning bells for public health officials at the CDC's National Immunization Program was first presented at the North American Congress of Toxicology in September 1998 by Dr. Gregory V. Stajich, a pharmacologist at Mercer University in Atlanta. His study was finally published in the Journal of Pediatrics in May 2000 to the dismay of vaccine officials because this peer-reviewed paper titled Iatrogenic exposure to mercury after hepatitis B vaccination in preterm infants, was an eye-opening study which showed post-vaccination mercury levels were significantly higher in preterm infants as compared with term infants in regard to the Hepatitis B injections at birth.
While public health officials and high ranking vaccine policy-makers were disturbed by Dr. Stajich's findings, their primary concern seem to focus not on the impact mercury could have on newborns but on the impact it could have on the vaccination compliance rates. They feared this study would cause pediatricians and parents to decline the birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine. The birth dose of this vaccine was the cornerstone of the CDC's National Immunization Schedule which began a rapid expansion in 1991.
These officials knew they had to mitigate the impact of the Stajich study. Internal CDC documents indicate they contracted with Dr. Pichichero at the University of Rochester to undertake a study similar to Dr. Stajich but with very different results. The funding was channeled through the National Institutes of Health to give the appearance of study independence from the CDC National Immunization Program (NIP). The results of this alliance between the CDC/NIP officials and Dr. Pichichero resulted in the paper titled Mercury concentrations and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing thiomersal: a descriptive study in what they hoped would be the benchmark Thimerosal "toxicology" study. In fact, the CDC, FDA, IOM, AMA, AAP and others continually refer to this study to "prove" that Thimerosal is "not toxic" in amounts found in childhood vaccines.
It must be noted that Dr. Pichichero is a pediatric immunologist and is not a toxicologist by training. In December 2002 during an interview with Dr. Pichichero, he admitted the following:
"...Our study did not examine toxicity, but we measured blood levels of free mercury, not of ethyl mercury."
According to this study, administration of vaccines containing Thimerosal did not seem to raise blood concentrations of mercury above assumed safe values in infants. They concluded that ethyl mercury seems to be eliminated from blood rapidly via the stools after parenteral administration of Thimerosal in vaccines.
Unfortunately, the half life studies in this report are totally invalid based
upon standard toxicological analysis. A stunning review of the
flaws in the Pichichero study has been
outlined by SafeMinds. Also, keep in mind that a short half life does not mean
a substance is safe (e.g., cyanide has a very short half-life). Missouri
State Representative Roy Holand, M.D., chairman of the House Heath Care Policy
Committee in 2004, gave perhaps the best summation of a primary weakness in the
Pichichero study during the committee hearing held on February 4, 2004 by
pointing out the damage to the neurofibrils occurs within the first 30 minutes
after the introduction of mercury to the brain cells as evidenced by
The University of Calgary video.
Dr. David Baskin, a highly respected neurosurgeon, along with his colleagues at the Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, published a very important peer-reviewed paper in late May of 2003 detailing the toxic effects of Thimerosal against neuronal and fibroblastic tissue.
Jeff Bradstreet, M.D., a family physician in Florida, has published and researched extensively on the causal link between Thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders. This paper, published Summer 2003 in the Journal of Physicians and Surgeons, is an excellent overview of the current research on this relationship.
Mercury has some devastating effects on many organ systems, particularly the brain, where it has been shown conclusively to destroy neurotubulin in the axons. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to greater toxicity due to their inability to excrete the accumulating mercury via several metabolic pathways (metallothionein, glutathione reduction, and Apo-e protein removal). The testimony of Dr. Jeff Bradstreet at the February 2004 IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee hearing, pointed out that polymorphisms in the gene which produces the enzyme methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) have been shown to produce abnormally low generation of reduced folate, which, along with B12 is necessary for proper brain neurotransmitter function. Defects in this gene would predispose a subgroup of children to the neurodevelopmental disorders now called "autism spectrum disorders." To see a graphical overview of these two defects in the biochemical pathway, click here. Parts of this same biochemical pathway can also be damaged directly by mercury due to direct effects on methionine synthase as shown in the next study discussed below.
In February 2004, Dr. Richard Deth of Northeastern University and his colleagues at University of Nebraska, Tufts and Johns Hopkins University published a study in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry titled Activation of methionine synthase by insulin-like growth factor-1 and dopamine: a target for neurodevelopmental toxins and thimerosal. They outlined a novel growth factor signaling pathway that regulates methionine synthase activity and thereby modulates methylation reactions, including DNA methylation. The potent inhibition of this pathway by ethanol, lead, mercury, aluminum and particularly Thimerosal suggests that it may be an important target of neurodevelopmental toxins.
The work of Dr. Deth dovetails into the work of Dr. Jill James, a pediatric biochemist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and her colleague, Dr. William Slikker, III, a senior research scientist at Division of Biochemical Toxicology, National Center for Toxicological Research. They found that:
"Thimerosal-induced cytotoxicity was associated with depletion of intracellular GSH in both cell lines."
Dr. James, a former senior research scientist with the Food and Drug Administration and her colleagues published their findings in the Journal of NeuroToxicology Vol 26, Issue 1 , January 2005, Pgs 1-8 in a study titled Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors
Any one or a combination of these genetic deficiencies can spell disaster for children resulting is mercury poisoning that manifests as neurodevelopmental disorders in children and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS or "Lou Gerhig's disease", and MS in adults. This information is contained in Professor Boyd Haley's video on this website.
Another good source of information regarding the comparison of ethyl and methyl mercury is found in the 2001 IOM Immunization Safety Review Committee presentation by George Lucier, Ph.D., a well-known toxicologist and former Director of the Environmental Toxicology Program at the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. The audio of this presentation can be heard online here (requires Real Player Plug-in). A quick graphic showing an overview of Thimerosal toxicity studies can be viewed here. This slide came from a paper presented by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) on Thimerosal's nomination as a potentially toxic substance in April of 2001.
Thimerosal is not an effective preservative
Ironically, Thimerosal is not the best choice for a vaccine preservative because it often does not work. Remember the 2004 Chiron flu vaccine debacle? If you will recall, 50 millions doses of influenza vaccine had to be destroyed because of bacterial contamination by Serratia marscens, even though they contained Thimerosal. The disaster was completely predictable given published science.
Numerous studies have shown Thimerosal is not an effective fungicide. One such study titled Safety Considerations in Handling Exoantigen Extracts from Pathogenic Fungi by Standard and Kaufman, two microbiologists at the of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Mycology Division in Atlanta, Georgia was published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology in April 1982. It notes:
"...thimerosal (0.01 and 0.02%) was found not to be fungicidal for the yeast forms of these fungi."
A paper by A. E. Elkhouly and R. T. Yousef titled Antibacterial Efficiency of Mercurials published in May 1974 in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences clearly states:
"...thimerosal was the least [effective]".
However, it was not the only paper to point out that Thimerosal, specifically, is a poor antibacterial. In 1985, Walter Orenstein, M.D. and his colleagues at the CDC in Atlanta published an article in Pediatrics titled Outbreaks of Group A Streptococcal Abscesses Following Diphtheria-Tetanus Toxoid-Pertussis Vaccination. One statement in the article reads:
"At currently used concentrations, Thimerosal is not an ideal preservative.”
“However, because Thimerosal is an organic mercurial compound, higher
concentrations
might reduce vaccine potency or pose a health hazard to recipients.”
It is interesting to note that Dr. Orenstein served as Director of the National Immunization Program from 1993 to March 2004 and has also served as Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service. He now works at Emory University where the vaccine program is largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry. The "revolving door" between the CDC, universities and industry is common.
So why is Thimerosal still being used in vaccines? The answer can be found in Dr. Orenstein's 1985 paper where it states:
“Single-unit packaging would approximately double the cost of DTP per dose. For example, one manufacturer charges $5.12 for a 15-dose vial of DTP vaccine or $0.34, per dose. If the $0.20 cost of a disposable syringe and needle are added, the total cost per dose to the physician would be about $0.54. The same manufacturer charges $10.40 for a package of ten single DTP doses (needle and syringe pre-packed) or $1.04 per dose."
"Even though the actual incidence rate of such occurrences is not known, they are clearly quite rare. If we assume that there are as many as 100 cases per year, costing $678 per abscess, the cost of these theoretical occurrences would be approximately $68,000. Given the prices mentioned above and the fact that approximately 18 million doses of DTP are administered each year, the cost of switching to single-dose packaging might be approximately $9 million.”
While we realize financial aspects have to be considered in public policy-making, money should not take precedence over safety. To place a child's life at risk for a difference of $0.54 is inexcusable.
Why Thimerosal seems to only affect some children
Why does mercury toxicity at levels found in vaccines seem to only affect a subgroup of children, predominantly males? History provides the answer. The same target subgroup was noted in the early 20th Century during the epidemic of Pink's Disease (Acrodynia) that was determined to be caused by mercury in teething powders given to children. About 1 in 500 children were afflicted, and some died as a result of this toxic insult.
Pink's Disease is still seen today, albeit less well recognized. We suspect the clinical symptoms such as pink, desquamating rash on the hands and feet is not even thought of by most clinicians, much less considered a result of mercury exposure. I can vouch that in the early 70's it was never taught in pathology or clinical pediatrics; I suspect it would be difficult to even find a clinician who would place the diagnosis on a roster of suspects (the "differential diagnosis"). When Pink's Disease is finally recognized clinically, it makes it into a case report in a medical journal. It is our belief that during the last decade, the concerned parents of a child with pink rash on the hands and feet after a Thimerosal-laden vaccine were most likely given phone advice (Tylenol, “reassurance”, or "see a dermatologist").
Dr. Thomas Clarkson, in his famous report, "The Three Modern Faces of Mercury," made a remarkable comment on page 6:
“It is interesting that not a single case of Acrodynia has been reported from exposure to vaccines despite the propensity of thimerosal to produce this syndrome when given in sufficient amounts.”
That's interesting in the face of many parental reports of just such a rash occurring in their child after a bolus of Thimerosal-laden vaccines in the 1990's. Pink's Disease then has been under-reported due primarily to lack of training and in the rush to lump these children into psychiatric DSM-IV Autistic Spectrum Disorders - a no-man's land where biochemical and toxicological causation has been set adrift in the sea of ignorance and/or expediency. According to the foreword by Dr. Leo Kanner, in the book , Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior by Dr. Bernard Rimland, he seems to agree...and has since 1963. Dr. Kanner is considered the most recognized expert in "autism" yet he wrote the following:
“The concept of early infantile autism (I could not think of a better name) was
diluted by some to deprive it of its specificity, so that the term was used as a
pseudo-diagnostic wastebasket for a variety of unrelated conditions, and a
nothing-but psychodynamic etiology was decreed by some as the only valid
explanation, so that further curiosity was stifled or even scorned.”
Leo Kanner, M.D., November 24, 1963
Dr. Leo Kanner was a professor of Child Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore when he first described "autism" in 1943. It is interesting to note the oldest "autistic" child described by Dr. Kanner in his land-mark paper was born in September of 1931. The first use of Thimerosal in vaccines was in 1931. What a coincidence...or perhaps not. Others have theorized about the connection between the psychiatric symptoms that are often associated with mercury poisoning and their close correlation to the diagnosis of autism.
Acrodynia is probably the most widely recognized form of mercury poisoning. Its symptoms have been documented as early as 1931 by Bancroft, Grant, Tanner, et al (Journal Lancet 71:56, 1931) and studied more extensively in the 1950's by Warkany and Hubbard. In fact, a statement in some of their earlier work is almost eerily predictive of the symptoms we are seeing today since the iatrogenic exposure to mercury was increased significantly by the rapidly expanded immunization schedule beginning around the early 1990's. Have their words from 1953 come back to haunt the medical community because mercury was left in vaccines?
"In several children of our series and in some recently reported, various
immunization procedures
preceded the onset of acrodynia in addition to mercurial exposure."
Acrodynia is the model of mercury poisoning which closely mimics the changes seen in autism and autism spectrum disorders. Indeed, Bernard, Enayati, Redwood, Roger, and Binstock published a review article, Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning in Medical Hypothesis in 2001 detailing the similarities between classical mercury poisoning and regressive autism. While this review article is a compelling glance into the mercury/autism correlation, it pales in comparison to their comprehensive report, Autism: A Unique Type of Mercury Poisoning examining this hypothesis. The conclude:
“The history of acrodynia illustrates that a severe disorder, afflicting a small
but significant percentage of children, can arise from a seemingly benign
application of low doses of mercury.”
“This review establishes the likelihood that
Hg [mercury] may likewise be etiologically significant in ASD,
with the Hg [mercury] derived from thimerosal in vaccines rather than teething
powders.”
“Due to the extensive parallels between autism
and HgP [mercury poisoning],
the likelihood of a causal relationship is great.”
Needless to say, this study set off a firestorm of controversy and created a public relations nightmare for vaccine program officials and pediatricians. To make matters worse, the Oct 2001 IOM Immunizations Safety Review Committee agreed the hypothesis was "biologically plausible" but there was insufficient evidence to accept or reject a causal connection and recommended further research.
In an effort to once again, do public relations damage control, a "commentary" was published by Karin Nelson of the NIH/NINDS and Margaret Bauman of Boston University in the Journal Pediatrics in 2002. It is often "cited" as evidence against the Thimerosal/Autism connection yet it never went through peer-review and it was submitted as their opinion or comments. An interesting side note is that NIH gave Bauman's department at Boston University a $8.4 million dollar grant to study autism in 2003 after her "commentary" was published. Puts a whole new spin on the old adage of "publish or perish"...seems it would be more appropriate to say "publish and flourish" in this instance.
To address the erroneous conclusions of the Nelson and Bauman commentary, a subsequent article by Blaxil, Redwood and Bernard titled the Toxicology of Neurodevelopmental Disorders - the role of mercury in the pathogenesis of autism was published in Molecular Psychiatry in 2002. Bernard, et al once again conclude:
These findings support a hypothesis that mercury in vaccines may be a factor in the pathogenesis of autism.
In our present vaccinated population of children, the rate of autism is now about 1 in 166 according to the CDC. Indeed, the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders and behavioral disorders in children has now been documented in the Autism A.L.A.R.M. by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC to be at an unprecedented incidence of 1 out of every 6 children.
This recent report was issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics' National Center of Medical Home Initiatives for Children with Special Needs in conjunction with the CDC and US Public Health & Human Services Department. If you clicked on this last link, you will note that the link to that site no longer exists. It was taken down after parents began sending the Autism A.L.A.R.M. to their Congressmen and Senators calling for an investigation into the possibility of a connection between Thimerosal and 1 in 6 children having neurodevelopmental disorders. One can only guess why was it taken down? Here is a cached copy of this page (courtesy of Google) to prove its existence.
As previously mentioned, the work by Waly, Deth et al regarding the alteration in methylation pathways in mercury poisoning details part of the answer to "why only some children." Furthermore, in the subgroup of children who have a genetic deficiency in the enzyme MTHFR (methyltetrahydrofolate reductase), it has been established that they are unable to regenerate the needed co-factors for methylation reactions. This was eloquently presented by Dr. Jeff Bradstreet at the February 9, 2004 Institute of Medicine Vaccine Safety Committee hearing in Washington, DC.
In June 2004, a study by Hornig, Chian and Lipkin published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry showed for the first time that autistic symptoms could be duplicated in the mouse model. Using a strain of immunologically suppressed mice (much like our children were after their vaccines containing mercury), Dr. Hornig duplicated the thimerosal dosing schedule of the 1990s and reproduced a host of abnormal behaviors in the experimental animals. The mice showed growth delay, reduced locomotion, and exaggerated response to novelty, just to name a few. Brain sections of these animals revealed densely packed, hyperchromic hippocampal neurons with altered glutamate receptors and transporters. In short - the autistic model was replicated based upon the premise of mercury-induced neuronal damage!
In December 2004, former Food and Drug Administration senior research scientist, Dr. Jill James published two landmark studies regarding the relationship between methylcobalamine, glutathione and thimerosal.
One of the studies, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, titled "Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism" detailed the actual levels of these biochemical deficiencies in autistic children. She and her colleagues set out to evaluate plasma concentrations of metabolites in the methionine transmethylation and transsulfuration pathways in children with autism. Not surprisingly, these children had significantly lower baseline plasma concentrations of methionine, SAM, homocysteine, cystathionine, cysteine, and total glutathione and significantly higher concentrations of SAH, adenosine, and oxidized glutathione. In other words, they found a metabolic profile that is consistent with impaired capacity for methylation (shown by the significantly lower ratio of SAM to SAH) and increased oxidative stress (significantly lower redox ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione). Even more interesting was that supplementation with methyl B12 and folinic acid normalized these biochemical markers. The next step, of course, is to document the clinical improvement in these children based upon such intervention. Many parents already know the answer to this one...the treatment protocol works!
Dr. James joined with Dr. William Slikker, III of the Division of Biochemical Toxicology at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkansas to further look at Thimerosal. The results of their ground-breaking study Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors was published in Vol. 26 of NeuroToxicology in January 2005
The work of Dr. James along with the rapidly mounting clinical, toxicological and pharmacokinetic evidence mounting against Thimerosal prompted the powerful Washington, D.C. environmental group, EWG to issue a white paper titled "Overloaded? New science, new insights about mercury and autism in susceptible children" and to hold a press conference releasing its findings and conclusions after an 18 month investigation.
Credit should go to Dan Olmsted, Senior Editor of UPI and Bob Miller of the SE Missourian for accurately reporting this late-breaking development and the subsequent findings of the Environmental Working Group.
Most of us, when first presented with this information, are bemused as to how and why such a problem could be kept from public knowledge. While we cannot speak for their motives, we can present the actual timeline...and this is where it gets interesting.
Congress mandated the FDA and other health agencies under its purview to determine the levels of mercury in pharmaceutical agents under the 1997 FDA Modernization Act. The FDA officials were apparently disturbed to learn that children were receiving mercury in levels that exceeded Federal safety guidelines.
The FDA, along with others held a two day meeting in August of 1999 to discuss Thimerosal and formulate a plan for expedited removal. The transcripts of the Thimerosal Workshop - Day 1 and Thimerosal Workshop - Day 2 are well-worth reading. One of those who attended the meeting, Dr. Martin Myers, Director of the National Vaccine Program Office with the Department of Health and Human Services offered his insights from the Workshop at a similar meeting held for aluminum a few months later. He said:
"Perhaps the most important thing that I took away from the last meeting
[Thimerosal Workshop] was that thoseof us who deal with vaccines have really
very little applicable background with metals and toxicological research."
On November 15, 1999 the FDA nominated Thimerosal to the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction and on at least two occasions the core Scientific Advisory Board recommended further evaluation. On March 20, 2000 the Federal Register Notice shows that the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) recommended further study on Thimerosal
Even as recently as August 2002, the Federal Register still had Thimerosal on its list of recommended products to be studied. It is still a mystery why this table from the CERHR website has continued to place Thimerosal in a deferred category (as of July, 2000) stating that other chemicals had a higher priority. In our opinion, July 2000 seems to be a significant turning point regarding the actions (or inactions) taken on Thimerosal. This is also less than one month after the CDC, FDA and vaccine manufacturers met at Simpsonwood to review the first analysis on Thimerosal's role in childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. Simpsonwood is the turning point on the Thimerosal issue and there is more information included herein. (See CDC and Simpsonwood below).
The
CDC and Simpsonwood
When the FDA alerted CDC officials in early 1999 of their findings from the
pharmaceutical mercury survey, they realized the need to determine if the
increased levels of Thimerosal children received in the 1990's had caused harm.
To their horror, the results were not good.
During this time period, the CDC continued to do their epidemiological studies
on Thimerosal toxicity from vaccines in children.
The
CDC's first reported analysis by Dr. Thomas Verstraeten
obtained by SafeMinds under the Freedom of Information Act must have been, as
documented in the Simpsonwood transcript, terribly disturbing to them. It
showed a 2.48% increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children
who had received the mercury laced vaccines (see
graph 3 at the top of page 15 of the
above report).
These results were so disquieting to the CDC they apparently felt the need to revise the data by including younger infants (not yet diagnosed) and pulled in data from a financially faltering Massachusetts HMO that dramatically under reported autism rates (due to a poorly designed database) and used these "new" calculations in the second and third drafts of this report. Internal e-mails from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, obtained by SafeMinds under FOIA, appear to confirm this suspicion.
All of these numerical permutations dramatically increased the signal noise for the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. Unfortunately for millions of children, this was the final published analysis of the VSD (Vaccine Safety Datalink) data that was used by other authors in several publications over the next few years.
Even more troubling than the first reported analysis of February 2000 by Dr. Verstraten and the CDC is the initial analysis which has been dubbed "Generation Zero" and was never compiled into a formal report. In this analysis, done in November and December of 1999, CDC researchers found a relative risk of 11.35 for autism for those infants with >25 mcg exposure at one month. In other words, children exposed to thimerosal levels as low as those found in the flu vaccine of today were over 11 times more likely to acquire a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Their troubling findings were discussed at a meeting in June 2000 at the Simpsonwood Resort in Norcross, Georgia. The transcript of the Simpsonwood meeting, obtained by SafeMinds under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a disturbing look behind the closed door meeting and the subsequent actions of public health officials colluding with vaccine manufacturers to do public relations and liability damage control. If you have listened to the WXYZ report online, you are already familiar with some of the startling quotes contained within.
While this 286 page transcript is anything but light reading, the very telling comments reported by the Detroit news (WXYZ) have been distilled into a short form here along with other pertinent highlights of this landmark meeting.
In the November 5, 2003 issue of Pediatrics,
Verstraeten, et al published data
based upon the manipulated figures from the VSD study as
discussed at the now infamous Simpsonwood meeting. Ironically, even Neal
Halsey, M.D., a staunch supporter of the National Vaccine Program, and former
Chairman of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), raised
credibility issues as evidenced in his December 17, 2003
letter to Pediatrics.
Safe Minds also did an
in-depth analysis of this data and all
of the "generations" of this "numerical evolution". Beginning about page 20 of
this critique, one can easily see the progression of how the original data was
altered. The datasets morphed over 4 generations of reports all based upon the
original (and correctly done report) from Feb 2000 that was presented at
the Simpsonwood meeting. The original autism risk was 2.48 and data "changes"
brought it down to 1.69 using a type of numerical "black box" method known as
"Cox Model adjusted".
For
an in-depth analysis of these numerical generations,
click here.
In February 2004, Geier and Geier published a
letter to the editor in Pediatrics
which detailed the serious errors in the Verstraeten study.
Most telling is the letter from Dr. Verstraeten himself to Pediatrics about the allegation that his study "cleared" thimerosal.
Congressman David Weldon, M.D. (R-FL) has detailed his concerns about the credibility of the these studies and suspected statistical cover-ups in his letter to Judy Gerberding, M.D., Director of the Centers for Disease Control, in his letter to her dated October 31, 2003. Congressman Weldon stated:
“I am very concerned about activities that have taken place in the National
Immunization Program (NIP) in the development of this study, and I believe the
issues raised need your personal attention.”
“I found a disturbing pattern which merits a
thorough, open, timely, and independent review by
researchers outside of the CDC, HHS, the vaccine industry, and others with a
conflict of interest
in vaccine related issues (including many in University settings who may have
conflicts).”
“A review of these documents leaves me very
concerned that rather than seeking to understand whether or not some children
were exposed to harmful levels of mercury in childhood vaccines in the
1990s, there may have been a selective use of the data to make the associations
in the earliest study disappear.”
To date, there has been no corrective action taken at the CDC by Dr. Gerberding, in fact, the pattern of behavior continues to be reflected the their ongoing studies and published papers.
One example of their ongoing pattern of questionable data stratifications is by Dr. Paul Stehr-Green of the CDC and colleagues titled "Autism and Thimerosal-containing vaccines: lack of consistent evidence for an association" published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in August of 2003. There are four major defects in the Stehr-Green analysis. The authors relied heavily on shifting data sources and an incomplete time series in their epidemiological analysis. It is our opinion that primary research is the answer to this question, not vague epidemiology and statistical permutations.
Unfortunately, much of this published data is simply a re-statement of the erroneous numbers from the older studies previously mentioned. In some cases, some information from within these articles actually makes the anti-thimerosal case stronger. For example the recent study by Mandell, DeStefano et al in the journal Psychiatric Services (56;56-65. 2005). They basically were looking at discharge rates from psychiatric institutions for the diagnosis codes of autism and ADHD (among others) and came to the conclusion that the reason for the increase in the numbers of these disorders was that there have been changes in diagnostic practices over time, increases in community prevalence of these disorders, and increased likelihood of hospitalizations for different mental disorders. We can certainly agree with the increase in community "presence". But one comment from the study in particular is also quite telling of the real story. DeStefano and colleagues remark,
"diagnosis of autism and ADHD followed a very different pattern, with peaks in rates at ages 7 and 12.”
for the study period 1989 to 2000. The dissected data when presented in graphical form clearly demonstrates a "bump" in autism rates at ages 7 and 12 (click picture on the right for a larger view) and the relationship to the routine childhood immunization schedules. It is interesting to note between the ages of 4 and 6 and again between the ages of 11 and 12, children received multiple immunization boosters including thimerosal-containing vaccines. Similar bumps were seen for ADHD. How fascinating that these rapid rises in diagnosis tend to coincide with the immunization schedules.
Special thanks to Dr. Richard Deth for his generosity in preparing the slide
and allowing us to share it with you.
In late 2003, Dr. Mark Geier and his researcher son, David were allowed (after considerable efforts in time and paperwork) to view the VSD database in the CDC computers housed in Maryland. As mentioned by Dr. Geier in the WXYZ report, their analysis revealed a 27 fold relative risk increase in autism in the data set that received DTP containing Thimerosal versus a similar subset of the DTP Thimerosal free version. Their paper on this analysis is awaiting publication.
However, Dr. Geier has published numerous other studies showing the positive association of Thimerosal containing vaccines and autism using the database known as the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). One such study was published in Experimental Biology and Medicine titled Neurodevelopmental Disorders after Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Brief Communication and specifically, found that the VAERS database showed statistical increases in the incidence rate of autism (relative risk [RR] = 6.0), mental retardation (RR = 6.1), and speech disorders (RR = 2.2) after Thimerosal containing diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines in comparison with Thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines.
The have continued to publish on the the adverse effects of Thimerosal. A few of their studies are cited below:
Thimerosal in childhood vaccines, neurodevelopment disorders, and heart disease in the United States published in the Journal of American Physicians & Surgeons in 2003 where their analyses showed:
"...increasing relative risks for neurodevelopment disorders and heart disease with increasing doses of mercury."
"This study provides strong epidemiological evidence for a link between mercury
exposure from
thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and neurodevelopment disorders."
Geier & Geier: An assessment of the impact of thimerosal on neurodevelopmental disorders. Pediatric Rehabilitation 2003; 6: 97-102
Neurodevelopmental Disorders after Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Follow-Up Analysis was published by the Geiers in the International Journal of Toxicology in 2004 where they concluded:
"...children exposed to these greater levels of mercury through Thimerosal in vaccinations are at a much greater risk of neurodevelopmental disorders evidenced by analysis of the VAERS database."
A comparative evaluation of the effects of MMR immunization and mercury doses from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines on the population prevalence of autism. Med Sci Monit, 2004; 10(3): PI33-39
When you watch the WXYZ news video from the links below, you will see Mark Geier, M.D., Ph.D. (an obstetrical geneticist) and his son, David, who have published extensively on the dangers of Thimerosal-containing vaccines. They recently published this article, evaluating the doses of mercury from Thimerosal-containing childhood immunizations in comparison to US Federal Safety Guidelines and the effects of increasing doses of mercury on the incidence of neurodevelopment disorders and heart disease.
Dr. Geier showed that children received mercury from this source in excess of
the Federal Safety Guidelines for the oral ingestion of mercury. Additionally,
the analyses showed increasing relative risks for neurodevelopment disorders and
heart disease with increasing doses of mercury.
|
In February 2004, |
Thimerosal and the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization initially issued a policy calling for the reduction and removal of thiomersal (as spelled in Europe) similar to the joint statement of the US Public Health Service and American Academy of Pediatrics. However, there has been a dramatic push since 2002 to rapidly publish data to exonerate Thimerosal and even the presence of an autism epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, pharmaceutical industry and others with a financial stake in vaccines, such as researchers and universities who are paid to study vaccines and often hold patents to vaccines. Evidence indicates vaccine manufacturers where largely behind this dramatic reversal of policy. That impact is being felt worldwide in medicine and research.
They go so far as to formulate "working groups" such as Intercluster Vaccine Research Initiative (IVR) under the auspices of the World Health Organization. Their inaugural meeting was held June 16-18, 1999. One of the missions is settling controversies whereby they determined that:
“WHO
should coordinate studies to address consumer fears regarding the safety of
vaccines
and assess the risk of adverse events and evaluate risk-benefit relation”.
Evidence from the June 14, 2001 meeting of WHO SAGE (Strategic Group of Experts) indicates that in early 2001 vaccine manufacturers began pressuring the World Health Organization, the United States and others to continue the use of thimerosal by intimating it could threaten the production and availability. The quote below is taken directly from that meeting report.
“WHO was extremely anxious to preserve the production and availability of
vaccines.
Industry was expecting clear signals from WHO on the thiomersal issue, as had
been
confirmed by informal consultations with some manufacturers during the first
half of 2001.”
This meeting was attended by some high ranking United States vaccine officials:
US
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) – Dr. Claire Broome (voting member); Dr. Walter Orenstein; Dr.
Steve Cochi
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP/CDC) – Dr.
Myron Levine
US Food & Drug Administration (CBER) – Dr. Kathryn Zoon (voting member)
National Institutes of Health (NIAID) – Dr. John LaMontagne (voting
member); Dr. George Curlin; Dr. Mark Miller
By 2002, the vaccine manufacturers had applied enough pressure to get what they wanted and at an informal meeting with vaccine manufacturers ; high ranking vaccine officials from WHO, CDC, FDA, EMEA (UK's version of the FDA) and other countries formalized the intent whereupon they decided on May 21, 2002, largely for financial reasons to:
"Develop a strong advocacy campaign to support ongoing use of thiomersal"
Although the WHO memo from May 21, 2002 appears to be the first time they solidified their intent to have a “strong advocacy campaign” for thimerosal, obviously the manufacturers had been pursuing the issue earlier. Some vaccine manufacturing executives, such as Dr. Ann-Marie Georges of GlaxoSmithKline, were so proud of that accomplishment; they were willing to brag about it in trade magazine interviews. Dr. Georges stated:
"So it was not an easy situation to resolve, but manufacturers addressed the issue and it has ceased to be a problem."
As recent events in the news have revealed, the behavior and decisions of pharmaceutical companies, FDA and CDC officials are not always in the best interest of the public; rather the priority for a number of years has been profits and cronyism. So it is not surprising to learn that medical journals, medical societies and researchers have been heavily and negatively influenced by pharmaceutical money as outlined in an article in the UK Telegraph where testimony in the House of Commons recently revealed the pharmaceutical industry routinely bribes doctors and "ghostwrites" articles about drugs in major medical journals. The article when on to state that Professor David Healy, of the University of Wales, told the Commons health select committee that as many as half the articles published in journals such as the British Medical Journal and The Lancet were written by members of the industry who had a vested interest in selling the drugs involved. One of the most distressing comments in the article was by a spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry by claiming there was "nothing wrong" with articles in major medical journals being written up for a clinician by a company "as long as the person has seen the article and signed it off".
Something's Rotten in Denmark
Many physicians and health care workers are aware of what has become known as
the
"Denmark study" published in October
2003 Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), which led many to believe
the vaccine-autism association was finally disproved to everyone's
satisfaction. Unfortunately, the study (which incidentally was funded and
produced by a Danish vaccine manufacturer) was severely flawed. Two
recent letters to the editor
by
Dr. Bernard Rimland and Sallie Bernard in the January 14, 2004 issue of JAMA
document these troubling analytical flaws. Because this study is the one most
frequently quoted by well-meaning physicians and public health officials to
allay parents questions about the mercury-autism association, it is essential to
understand the serious errors:
1) The entire findings of Hviid et al were based on finding fewer older children
(born from 1990-1992) exposed to Thimerosal than younger children (born
1992-1996).
2) A significant number of autism cases (predominately in older children) were
dropped from this registry every year (e.g., twenty-three percent of the
autism-diagnosed 1995 cohort were lost in the 2000 registry analysis).
3) Questions about author bias began to surface when it was discovered that the
authors did not disclose that they worked for a for-profit company that did
about $120 million/year in vaccine revenues, which included exports of
Thimerosal laden vaccines to the United States and serve as the sole contract
vaccine manufacturer for the Danish government.
Review an
in-depth analysis of the Denmark study
and the numerous conflicts of interest and dataset manipulations.
Government and Thimerosal
If Thimerosal is ineffective as a antibacterial and has a questionable safety record, it begs the ques
