For years I looked at the link between thimerosal and autism. I spent so much time on it because that is how I make my living; however, I quickly learned that this was not going to be any ordinary case. I began my investigation into thimerosal when I was approached by two families that had children diagnosed with the symptoms of autism that developed after receiving a round of vaccines. These families each told the same story. They each had healthy, happy children who changed dramatically after receiving thimerosal-containing vaccines. Children who were developing, learning words, beginning to speak, beginning to tell their moms and dads they loved them, who then changed into children who would beat their heads against the wall for hours at time and would no longer speak or make eye contact.
Like many cases where I was unfamiliar with the science, I began my investigation with an open mind, simply to find out whether or not there was a connection between thimerosal autism.
What I found was more disturbing than I could imagine.
The rest of the story, after the break.
Over decades, the pharma industry, with either lack of oversight by the government or a willingness to look the other way, let loose a silent terror that began to creep across this nation. An unseen terror that was being given to our children every day. That terror is the preservative thimerosal that was a component of most childhood vaccines.
I spent months meeting with people around the country who could make a difference based on the corporate conduct involved in developing and promoting thimerosal. Unfortunately, the drug lobby is more powerful than the truth or even thousands upon thousands of children who are injured for life.
In the last few weeks, Imus, Rep. Kennedy and others have begun to the beat the thimerosal drum again. I hope this time someone hears and changes things. In the meantime, I thought I would share what I know about it with all of you. In case you're wondering, I never did make any money off of thimerosal cases, but that was no longer important. Just stopping one kid from developing regressive autism because of it was priceless.
From the outset, being anit-thimerosal is not the same as anti-vaccine case. This is about the establishment of a link between thimerosal and mercury poisoning and/or autism.
So, what was being placed into children's vaccines and was potentially causing children to develop brain disorders? It was not medicine.
It was mercury.
What is Thimerosal?
Thimerosal contains 49.6% mercury (in its inorganic compound form) by weight. See Egan, W.M. Thimerosal in Vaccines. Mercury is a toxic metal that can cause health problems, including neurological disorders. Approximately 12 out of the 18 vaccine doses the average American child received before the age of two contain Thimerosal.
Cumulatively, that's more than 200 micrograms of mercury.
According to the EPA, dropping that amount of mercury into 23 gallons of water would make it unsafe for human consumption.
Most know that mercury is very toxic. The major toxicity of mercury is manifested in the central nervous system and the symptoms of mercury poisoning mimic symptoms of autism. If you placed a chart of the symtpoms of mercury poisoning next to a chart of the symtoms autism they would mirror each other.
The rate of children with autistic symptoms has greatly increased over the years. In 1970, an estimated one in 2,000 children experienced autistic symptoms. As the number of containing-containing vaccines given increased between 1970 and 1990, the number of children who suffered from autistic symptoms rose to one in 1,000. Now, the Center for Disease Control estimates that, as of the year 2000, one in 150 children suffer from autistic symptoms.
The International Child Development Resource Center, ICDRC estimates the minimal cost in present value, to care for the 420,000 children in the U.S. now suffering from autism is $1,260,000,000,000 (based on $3million/lifetime and 420,000 children affected). So a little over $1 trillion in the next 50 years would be required if autism were cured today and there were no new cases. Because autism is doubling about every four years, this is likely an overly conservative estimate. The societal cost could easily be $3-4 trillion.
In 1999 a group of doctors first publicly began to discuss a connection between autism and mercury poisoning. Big Pharma with the help of many governmental agencies began to circle the wagons rather than seriously look at what could be one of the worst man-made epidimecs in our history.
To comprehend the dangers of Thimerosal, there must be an understanding of the extreme toxicity of mercury. Mercury has been known to be a toxic substance since the 1800s. The toxicity of mercury has been consistently underestimated, thus leading to repeated uses of mercury for commercial purposes, and even medicinal purposes, which, in turn leads to epidemics of mercury poisoning.
An epidemic of mercury poisoning occurred in Mina Mata Japan, where the consumption of contaminated fish caught from Mina Mata Bay began to create neurological injury in the local population, especially in the children. Again, after some period of time, scientific researchers established the connection between the disease, and its sources back to mercury exposure.
Again, the predominate symptoms were neurological in nature, bearing a striking resemblance to the symptoms of autism, and again, as soon as the connection was made, people avoided the consumption of the contaminated fish and fetal Mina Mata Disease as it was called became history.
Because the exposure in Mina Mata was widespread throughout the population, important facts about mercury's toxicity were discovered. These findings showed that while the exposure to the mercurial might be widespread, it appears to affect children and infants more dramatically than adults.
In fact, in Mina Mata, there were documented cases of mercury exposure in pregnant women at levels of exposure that caused no adverse reaction in the adult women, but resulted in injury to their unborn children. Mina Mata Disease was widely studied. Over 200 medical journal articles dissected every aspect of the disaster.
The mercury levels of exposure that resulted in symptoms were proportionate to the age of the child. The younger the child, the less exposure to mercury was necessary to cause the onset of symptoms. The symptoms were primarily neurological in nature, and the occurrence of the disease was more likely to occur in boys rather than girls.
In the same period of time, Iraq was suffering from a famine and drought, and humanitarian efforts included shipping wheat seed grain, treated with an anti-fungal product that contained mercury. The Iraqi farmers ignored warnings not to use the seed grain as food, and as a result, widespread episodes of mercury poisoning occurred. The Iraqi epidemics reinforced the general principles of mercury's toxic profile. Fetuses, infants and children were the most vulnerable to the effects of the mercury, boys more than girls and there was a dose response relationship, and that a certain sub-segment of the population showed sensitivity to mercury toxicity.
During the early 1930's and with a seemingly clear understanding that mercury was not suitable for injections into humans, Eli Lilly and Company developed, patented and began to market a product called Merthiolate, as an antiseptic that was 50% mercury.
The product was widely and enthusiastically accepted and soon Merthiolate was being used as an over the counter antiseptic lotion, and as a preservative in a number of medicinal products including vaccines. Systematically, the population and especially children were being exposed to mercury through the widespread use of Merthiolate, later named Thimerosal.
Almost immediately after its introduction, the use of mercury in Merthiolate was revealing the product to be toxic, as one would expect. Merthiolate in opthamalic solutions proved to cause allergic reactions, sensitivity reactions and delay sensitivity reactions, with the doctors who observed and reported these findings asking the question of whether the product was suitable for injection into humans.
Episodes of mercury poisoning and even deaths from exposure to Merthiolate were being sporadically reported in the medical literature. Examples include an 18-month-old girl reported to die from mercury poisoning associated with the use of Merthiolate as a treatment for an ear infection.
Five deaths were reported in Rhodesia, when a vaccine was mixed inappropriately and the level of Thimerosal was much greater than specified. 6 children received the mismatched vaccine - 5 died.
A doctor in Canada noticed that an infant unexpectedly died following treatment of an umbilical cord hernia with Merthiolate being applied to the hernial sac as an antiseptic. The doctor was suspicious and reviewed the hospital's records regarding children who suffered similar consequences. He discovered that 13 children had been treated for umbilical hernia using the application of Merthiolate. Of the 13 children treated in that manner, 10 had died of questionable etiology. Of the 9 autopsies that had been performed, pathological materials were still available for review in 6 of the cases. Excessive levels of mercury in the brain, blood and other organs were found in all 6 infants. The levels of mercury were reported to be of a level that one would expect to be associated with acute mercury toxicity.
The medical literature confirmed that thimerosal was toxic in the mid 1970's when animal experiments were conducted using Thimerosal that showed that the mercury component of Thimerosal entered the blood stream, and crossed the blood brain barrier where it could be found in the brain tissue of the animals.
Given the history of mercury toxicity and the reports of lower and lower levels of mercury being shown to cause toxic effects, the various federal agencies and world health organizations began promulgating exposure standards for mercury without the knowledge that Thimerosal was currently being injected into our children and pregnant women in the form of vaccines and flu shots.
Armed with a vast amount of world literature from a history of mercury epidemics and the known risk of mercury exposure to developing fetuses, infants and children, the EPA, the FDA and other organizations came up with extremely low dose thresholds for mercury exposure to humans.
The EPA's standard is the most conservative at 0.1 micrograms per kilo of body weight per day.
The EPA formulated this standard without knowing of the use of mercury as a preservative in childhood vaccines, and without knowing that in the past decade the number and type of vaccines added to the routine vaccine schedule would now put large amounts of mercury intravenously into every child in America.
In fact, beginning in the late 1980's the government's recommended vaccine schedule, including two newly added vaccines, both preserved with Thimerosal, if followed would provide a 1 year old infant more mercury, via injection, than the EPA standard.
More importantly, the EPA standard assumed gradual and very low daily exposures, 0.4 micrograms to 1.0 micrograms per day. The EPA has never studied, addressed, nor suggested a safe level for bolus doses of mercury. Nor has the EPA nor any other federal agency addressed a safe exposure level for mercury by injection into the bloodstream.
So what was in the vaccinations? Until recently, each dose of Hepatitis B contained 12.5 micrograms of mercury without regard to the size of the infant it is being injected into.
Each dose of H-Influenza-B contained 25 micrograms of mercury.
Each dose of DTP contained 25 micrograms of mercury.
Many children would routinely receive a combined injection of these three vaccines in one visit to the pediatrician. For a one-month-old infant weighing 11 pound or 5 kilos, this combination of shots would be 120 times the EPA standard for daily exposure to mercury. 62.5 mcg of mercury injected into a baby and the EPA standard being 0.5 mcg per day.
Pregnant women were being told not to eat a can of tuna fish, but in most cases on day two of life, their babies were being given bolus injections of mercury when they received their first Hep B vaccine.
Mercury is tolerated by most adult human beings at levels that would kill a child. This fact is well established. In a study from Japan, mothers in Mina Mata were unphased by the level of mercury they were exposed to from eating mercury contaminated fish, and yet their unborn fetuses, and nursing infants were profoundly effected by the poison. In fact, in journals reporting on the Mina Mata epidemic, the symptoms of the children described, mirror autism.
Epidemiology.
As with all new theories of causation, the medical profession looks upon the idea with great suspicion. The same is true with the mercury autism theory. The industry and several scientists set out to disprove the theory with "sound science". In the case of the mercury autism theory, the Center for Disease Control, perhaps the most highly motivated governmental agency to defend their prior recommendations of vaccinating newborns and infants with mercury-laced vaccines set out to disprove the connection.
Using a computer data base that links 8 large metropolitan HMO's to the CDC's resources, a set of epidemiologists led by Thomas Verstraeten were tasked with looking at the connection between Autism and vaccines.
The results shocked the CDC. In the first two HMO's studied, a statistically significant correlation between Thimerosal containing vaccines and the relative risk of developing various neurological conditions was found. 2.48 times the normal risk for autism, 2.73 times the normal risk for "stammering", 2.45 times the normal risk for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Verstraeten added two more HMO's to the study, and included children of different ages, and the numbers while still in excess of normal were reduced to a level that was no longer statistically significant. The CDC study was never published but produced through a FOIA request to the CDC.
After presenting the results of the study, Verstraeten set out to redo the study again, addressing its critics. Again, the CDC did not like the results. The final study by Verstraeten, which to this day has never been printed, published or produced by the CDC suggests an increased risk of 1.1 times normal per 12.5 mcg of mercury received by each infant. This was reported to a select group of CDC, the Advisory Committee of Immunizations Practices, Industry representatives and various academics.
Verstraeten now works as a consultant for Glaxo Smith Kline.
Thimerosal is not a necessary ingredient in vaccines. It simply increases shelf life, thereby increasing corporate profits. There is no medical reason for it to be a component of the vaccines, so it could be removed unilaterally by the manufacturers.
There is a great deal of evidence pointing to a link between Thimerosal and mercury poisoning. Congress started looking into the problem in the late 1990s. The Federal Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics have both asked that vaccine manufacturers stop using Thimerosal. As early as July 1999, in joint statements by the American Pediatric Academy, the Public Health Service, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, it was recommended that Thimerosal be removed from vaccines. Although these groups maintain there has been no proven, direct link between Thimerosal and autism, they concede that the mercury level in these vaccines exceeds what the FDA considers to be a "safe" level and recommended Thimerosal be removed from children's vaccines.
In Tissue Concentrations of Mercury after Chronic Dosing of Squirrel Monkeys with Thimerosal, Blair 1975, there was clear accumulation of mercury from chronic use of preserved-preserved medicines viewed by the researchers as a potential health hazard for man. This 1974 study should have been a wake up call for Eli Lilly, but it was not. According to the study, during the six-month period Thimerosal was given, mercury concentrations were significantly raised in the brain and chronic use by patients of formulations containing Thimerosal as a preservative may result in accumulation of some mercury in the brain and other tissues. The study concluded that there was an increase in brain mercury levels in monkeys that may represent a potential hazard in the chronic use of Thimerosal as a preservative in products intended for human use.
In DHHS and FDA studies, the FDA found Thimerosal, at a cellular level, is more toxic for human epithelial cells in vitro than mercuric chloride, phenyl mercuric nitrate, and merbromin. It is 35.3 times more toxic for embryonic chick heart tissue than staphylococcus aureus.
The FDA cited another study that demonstrated that 10 of 20 guinea pigs sensitized to Thimerosal developed a delayed hypersensitivity. This production of a hypersensitivity condition in 50% of lab animals demonstrates that Thimerosal is very allergenic and it is reasonable to expect Thimerosal acts similarly in humans. The FDA report also cited a comprehensive study of several mercury compounds in 1950 that shows Thimerosal is little better than water in protecting mice from potential fatal streptococcal infection under the conditions of the study. The FDA panel concluded Thimerosal is not safe for over-the-counter topical use because of its potential for cell damage if applied to broken skin and its allergy potential, and it is not effective as a topical antimicrobial because its bacteriostatic action can be reversed. Even after this report, the drug manufacturers continued to use Thimerosal as a preservative for children's vaccines.
In the Journal of Pediatrics, researchers measured the total mercury levels before and after the administration of the hepatitis B vaccine containing Thimerosal in 15 pre-term and 5 term infants. Comparison of pre and post vaccination mercury levels showed a significant increase of mercury in both pre-term and term infants after vaccination. The post vaccination mercury levels were significantly higher in pre-term infants as compared with term infants. The study stated that because mercury is known to be a potential neurotoxin to infants further study of its pharmacodynamics is warranted. The study further found that elevated mercury levels after a single dose of hep B vaccine were detected in all infants and levels in pre-term infants were 3 times higher than those in term infants, a difference that is statistically significant. In addition to their decreased ability to metabolize and eliminate mercury, premature infants have a smaller volume of distribution than term infants. All these factors could contribute to the higher concentrations of mercury found in the pre-term group. The study concluded that because of a statistically significant rise in total mercury levels in the infants after vaccination, there is a concern about the possibility of compounding the neurological risk for these infants.
Specifically, Dr. Mark Geier, an independent scientist who does consulting work before the no-fault Vaccine Compensation Act administered by the US Court of Claims, and who has access to the VAERS database has testified in front of Congress about a study he completed regarding Thimerosal and neurodevelopmental delays.
Dr. Geier's study presented the first epidemiological evidence, based upon tens of millions of doses of vaccine administered in the US that associates increasing Thimerosal in childhood vaccines with neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Specifically, an analysis of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (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) following containing-containing Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis (DTaP) vaccines in comparison to free-free DTaP vaccines.
Geier studied, the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in a comparative examination between Thimerosal-containing Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis (DTaP) and Thimerosal -free DTaP vaccines based upon analysis of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database. The VAERS database is an epidemiological database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1990. All adverse reactions are to be reported to the VAERS database as required by US law. The FDA also continually monitors reports to the VAERS database to determine whether any vaccine or vaccine lot has a higher than expected incidence rate of events.
This is the database that many are trying to get access to so that further study may be conducted but the government is resisting those attemtps.
Geier hypothesized that DTaP vaccines, whether containing Thimerosal or not, should have a similar incidence rate of adverse reactions. He analyzed DTaP administered by manufacturer, so that he could compare containing-containing DTaP vaccines administered from 1992 through 2000 against free-free DTaP vaccines administered from 1997 through 2000. He used denominators obtained from the Biological Surveillance Summaries of the CDC to determine the number of doses of each manufacturer administered and based upon this information he was able to calculate incidence rates of adverse reactions following vaccination.
Geier compared the incidence of adverse reactions following containing-containing DTaP vaccines against free-free DTaP vaccines in order to determine relative risk, attributable risk, percent association and statistical significance.
In addition, in order to determine if there were potential biases in the data, Geier employed several controls. Geier examined the overall mean and standard deviation of the ages of containing-containing and free-free DTaP vaccine adverse reactions reported to the VAERS, in order to ensure that both types of vaccines were administered to similar aged populations, because different aged populations may have a difference in the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders. The usual course of DTaP vaccine in children consists of primary immunizations administered at 2, 4 and 6 months, followed up by booster doses at 18 months and at 5 years. The years examined in this study also help to preclude the possibility of reporting biases based upon popular media publicity of an association between Thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders in recent years because containing-containing DTaP vaccines were analyzed for much earlier years (1992-2000), than free-free DTaP vaccines (1997-2000).
Results
The data showed large male/female ratios in those children reported to have developed autism (17) and speech disorders (2.3) following vaccination with Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines.
Geier found statistical increases in the incidence of autism, mental retardation and speech disorders following Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to Thimerosal -free DTaP vaccines.
Geier stated that the results of the analysis were extremely surprising. He observed statistically significant increases in the incidence rate of neurodevelopmental disorders following Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to Thimerosal -free DTaP vaccines. He observed that the overall mean age for adverse reactions reported following Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines and Thimerosal -free DTaP vaccines were similar. He also observed, based upon the mean ages of those developing neurodevelopmental disorders following Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines that these reactions tended to occur in older children. This potentially may be explained by the toxic buildup of mercury from successive doses of Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines.
Bernard et al., have compared the similar biological abnormalities commonly found in autism and the corresponding pathologies arising from mercury exposure. Distinct similarities were found between autism and mercury exposure in their effects upon biochemistry, the immune system, the central nervous system structure, neuro-chemistry and neurophysiology. The authors report that mercury toxicity shows great variability in its effects on the individual, so that at the same exposure level, some will be affected severely while others will be asymptomatic.
Geier states he was initially highly skeptical that differences in the concentrations of Thimerosal in vaccines would have any effect on the incidence rate of neurodevelopmental disorders following childhood immunization. The results of his analysis however suggest that children who received an additional 75-100 :g of Thimerosal from Thimerosal -containing DTaP vaccines may have an associated increase in neurodevelopmental disorders based upon analysis of the VAERS database. Geier reported a 6x relative risk for developing autism after receiving the Thimerosal-containing DTP alone. This study does not include an analysis of all cumulative doses of Thimerosal found in the full schedule of childhood vaccines.
I could go on and on. But why should I rather than the government? What is there to hide and why has the CDC refused to release their data to independent scientists for review? That will have to be the subject of another diary.
Thoughts or questions? I'm interested to hear what others think about this topic.