What the HELL is wrong with people? I know big pharma and the Drs are partly to blame but people need to take some responsibility for their own health as well.
*****
More Americans are taking prescription medications
By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer
Wed May 14, 4:18 PM ET
For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows.
The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
The numbers were gathered last year by Medco Health Solutions Inc., which manages prescription benefits for about one in five Americans.
Experts say the data reflect not just worsening public health but better medicines for chronic conditions and more aggressive treatment by doctors. For example, more people are now taking blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medicines because they need them, said Dr. Daniel W. Jones, president of the American Heart Association.
In addition, there is the pharmaceutical industry's relentless advertising. With those factors unlikely to change, doctors say the proportion of Americans on chronic medications can only grow.
"Unless we do things to change the way we're managing health in this country ... things will get worse instead of getting better," predicted Jones, a heart specialist and dean of the University of Mississippi's medical school.
Americans buy much more medicine per person than any other country. But it was unclear how their prescriptions compare to those of insured people elsewhere. Comparable data were not available for Europe, for instance.
Medco's data show that last year, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. Most of the drugs are taken daily, although some are needed less often.
The company examined prescription records from 2001 to 2007 of a representative sample of 2.5 million customers, from newborns to the elderly.
Medication use for chronic problems was seen in all demographic groups:
• Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older.
• One in four children and teenagers.
• 52 percent of adult men.
• Three out of four people 65 or older.
Among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly.
Karen Walker of Paterson, N.J., takes 18 prescription medicines daily for high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic back and shoulder pain, asthma and the painful muscle disorder fibromyalgia.
"The only way I can do it and keep my sanity ... is I use pill boxes" to organize pills for each morning and night, said Walker, 57, a full-time nurse at an HIV clinic. Her 69-year-old husband, Charles, keeps his medicines lined up on his bureau: four pills for arthritis and heart disease, plus two inhalers for lung problems.
Dr. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer at Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Medco, said he sees both bad news and good in the findings.
"Honestly, a lot of it is related to obesity," he said. "We've become a couch potato culture (and) it's a lot easier to pop a pill" than to exercise regularly or diet.
On the good side, he said, researchers have turned what used to be fatal diseases into chronic ones, including AIDS, some cancers, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease.
Yet Epstein noted the biggest jump in use of chronic medications was in the 20- to 44-year-old age group — adults in the prime of life — where it rose 20 percent over the six years. That was mainly due to more use of drugs for depression, diabetes, asthma, attention-deficit disorder and seizures.
Antidepressant use in particular jumped among teens and working-age women. Doctors attributed that to more stress in daily life and to family doctors, including pediatricians, being more comfortable prescribing newer antidepressants.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen's Health Research Group said the increased use of medications is partly because the most heavily advertised drugs are for chronic conditions, so most patients will take them for a long time. He also blames doctors for not spending the time to help patients lose weight and make other healthy changes before writing a prescription.
The study highlights a surge in children's use of medicines to treat weight-related problems and other illnesses previously considered adult problems. Medco estimates about 1.2 million American children now are taking pills for Type 2 diabetes, sleeping troubles and gastrointestinal problems such as heartburn.
"A scarier problem is that body weights are so much higher in children in general, and so we're going to have larger numbers of adults who develop high blood pressure or abnormal cholesterol or diabetes at an earlier age," said Jones, of the heart association.
Dr. Richard Gorman, an American Academy of Pediatrics expert on children's medicines, said more children are taking medicines for "adult conditions" partly because manufacturers now provide pediatric doses, liquid versions or at least information to determine the right amount for a child.
The Medco study found that among boys and girls under age 10, the most widely used medication switched from allergy drugs to asthma medicines between 2001 and 2007. Gorman said that's because over the last decade, asthma care has gone from treating flare-ups to using inhaled steroids regularly to prevent flare-ups and hospitalizations.
___
On the Net:
http://www.medco.com
Friday, May 16, 2008
USDA continues to rape and defile the meaning of organic
They have ruined what it means to be organic, how much more arrogant and sick are they going to get? I hate to say it but at some point they are going to ban all organic foods and declare fruits and vegetables to be the property of of various corporations.
*****
http://www.naturalnews.com/023183.html
USDA Renews Approval of 46 Non-Organic Ingredients in "Organic" Foods
(NaturalNews) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed its approval for 46 non-organically produced substances to be used in foods and beverages that are labeled "organic." At the same time, the agency withdrew its approval for a type of food coloring and a food additive.
Under the Organic Foods Production Act, the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is required to renew approval every five years for any non-organic ingredients that are allowed into organic foods.
The products renewed include five agricultural non-organic products and 41 non-agricultural, non-organic products. The agricultural produced products are corn starch, kelp, pectin, unbleached lecithin and water extracted gums. Some of these are not individual products, but categories; water-extracted gums, for example, include arabic, carob bean, guar and locust bean gums. Kelp may only be used as a thickener or a dietary supplement.
The 41 allowed non-agricultural products include common ingredients such as citric and lactic acid; calcium carbonate; calcium chloride; carnauba wax; bakers, brewers or nutritional yeast; dairy cultures; flavors; sodium carbonate; glycerin; mono- and diglycerides; and xanthan gum.
The USDA withdrew its approval, however, for colors derived from non-synthetic sources and for potassium tartrate derived from tartaric acid.
The organic industry is the fastest-growing agriculture sector in the United States, currently accounting for 3 percent of all food and beverage sales. Retail revenues have risen 20 to 24 percent each year since 1990, from $1 billion to nearly $17 billion in 2006. They are expected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2010.
At the same time, acreage of organic agriculture operations more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, to a current 4.05 million acres. The number of organic operations increased by more than 18 percent in the same period, to a 2005 value of 8.500 crop and livestock operations and 2,900 handling operations.
*****
http://www.naturalnews.com/023183.html
USDA Renews Approval of 46 Non-Organic Ingredients in "Organic" Foods
(NaturalNews) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has renewed its approval for 46 non-organically produced substances to be used in foods and beverages that are labeled "organic." At the same time, the agency withdrew its approval for a type of food coloring and a food additive.
Under the Organic Foods Production Act, the USDA's National Organic Standards Board is required to renew approval every five years for any non-organic ingredients that are allowed into organic foods.
The products renewed include five agricultural non-organic products and 41 non-agricultural, non-organic products. The agricultural produced products are corn starch, kelp, pectin, unbleached lecithin and water extracted gums. Some of these are not individual products, but categories; water-extracted gums, for example, include arabic, carob bean, guar and locust bean gums. Kelp may only be used as a thickener or a dietary supplement.
The 41 allowed non-agricultural products include common ingredients such as citric and lactic acid; calcium carbonate; calcium chloride; carnauba wax; bakers, brewers or nutritional yeast; dairy cultures; flavors; sodium carbonate; glycerin; mono- and diglycerides; and xanthan gum.
The USDA withdrew its approval, however, for colors derived from non-synthetic sources and for potassium tartrate derived from tartaric acid.
The organic industry is the fastest-growing agriculture sector in the United States, currently accounting for 3 percent of all food and beverage sales. Retail revenues have risen 20 to 24 percent each year since 1990, from $1 billion to nearly $17 billion in 2006. They are expected to reach nearly $24 billion by 2010.
At the same time, acreage of organic agriculture operations more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, to a current 4.05 million acres. The number of organic operations increased by more than 18 percent in the same period, to a 2005 value of 8.500 crop and livestock operations and 2,900 handling operations.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
I am not one to usually ask for prayer but these people need as much positive support / prayer as possible because these people have had their families turned upside down by something promoted as keeping their children safe. All they have been left with so far are cover ups and lies.
How do the pro vax drs, the idiots with financial ties to big pharma, and the people who make this poison sleep at night? I don't get it.
*****
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Monday, May 12, 2008; 4:36 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.
Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally _ but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.
Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.
Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.
The Office of Special Masters of the claims court has instructed the plaintiffs to designate three test cases for each of the three theories _ nine cases in all _ and has assigned three special masters to handle the cases. Three cases in the first category were heard last year, but no decisions have been reached.
The two cases beginning Monday are among the three that focus on the second theory of causation: that thimerosal-containing vaccines alone cause autism. The plaintiff in the third case originally scheduled for hearing this month has withdrawn and lawyers and court officials are working to agree on substitute case.
Hearings in the test cases for the third theory of causation are scheduled in mid-September.
Lawyers for the petitioning families in the cases being heard this month say they will present evidence that injections with thimerosal deposit a form of mercury in the brain. That mercury excites certain brain cells that stay chronically activated trying to get rid of the intrusion.
"In some kids, there's enough of it that it sets off this chronic neuroinflammatory pattern that can lead to regressive autism," said attorney Mike Williams.
In the end, the families' attorneys hope to convince the special master hearing their case that thimerosal belongs on the list of causes for the inflammation that leads to regressive autism.
To win, the attorneys for the two boys, William Mead and Jordan King, will have to show that it's more likely than not that the vaccine actually caused the injury.
Many members of the medical community are skeptical of the families' claims. They worry that the claims about the dangers of vaccines could cause some people to forgo vaccines that prevent illness.
"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people, is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Dr. Andrew Gerber, a psychiatrist, said that medical experts don't have a comprehensive understanding of what causes autism, but they do know there is a strong hereditary component.
Toxins from the environment could play a role, but currently, data does not support that they do, Gerber said.
Arguments are scheduled to go on throughout the month. A final decision could take several more months. Claims that are successful would result in compensation taking into account lost earnings after age 18 and up to $250,000 for pain and suffering.
The families or the federal government can also appeal the decision of the special master to the Court of Federal Claims or to a federal appeals court.
The court Web site says more than 12,500 claims have been filed since creation of the program in 1987, including more than 5,300 autism cases, and more than $1.7 billion has been paid in claims. It says there is now more than $2.7 billion in a trust fund supported by an excise tax on each dose of vaccine covered by the program.
____
On the Net:
Background on thimerosal trial: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4428
© 2008 The Associated Press
How do the pro vax drs, the idiots with financial ties to big pharma, and the people who make this poison sleep at night? I don't get it.
*****
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
By KEVIN FREKING
The Associated Press
Monday, May 12, 2008; 4:36 AM
WASHINGTON -- The Institute of Medicine said in 2004 there was no credible evidence to show that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal led to autism in children. But thousands of families have a different take based on personal experience.
Some of them are going to court Monday as attorneys will attempt to show that the mercury-based preservative triggers symptoms of autism.
Two 10-year-old boys from Portland, Ore., will serve as test cases to determine whether many of the children and their families should be compensated. Attorneys for the boys will attempt to show the boys were happy, healthy and developing normally _ but, after being exposed to vaccines with thimerosal, they began to regress.
Thimerosal has been removed in recent years from standard childhood vaccines, except flu vaccines that are not packaged in single-doses. The CDC says single-dose flu shots currently are available only in limited quantities. In 2004, a committee with the Institute of Medicine concluded there was no credible evidence that vaccines containing thimerosal caused autism.
Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism.
The Office of Special Masters of the claims court has instructed the plaintiffs to designate three test cases for each of the three theories _ nine cases in all _ and has assigned three special masters to handle the cases. Three cases in the first category were heard last year, but no decisions have been reached.
The two cases beginning Monday are among the three that focus on the second theory of causation: that thimerosal-containing vaccines alone cause autism. The plaintiff in the third case originally scheduled for hearing this month has withdrawn and lawyers and court officials are working to agree on substitute case.
Hearings in the test cases for the third theory of causation are scheduled in mid-September.
Lawyers for the petitioning families in the cases being heard this month say they will present evidence that injections with thimerosal deposit a form of mercury in the brain. That mercury excites certain brain cells that stay chronically activated trying to get rid of the intrusion.
"In some kids, there's enough of it that it sets off this chronic neuroinflammatory pattern that can lead to regressive autism," said attorney Mike Williams.
In the end, the families' attorneys hope to convince the special master hearing their case that thimerosal belongs on the list of causes for the inflammation that leads to regressive autism.
To win, the attorneys for the two boys, William Mead and Jordan King, will have to show that it's more likely than not that the vaccine actually caused the injury.
Many members of the medical community are skeptical of the families' claims. They worry that the claims about the dangers of vaccines could cause some people to forgo vaccines that prevent illness.
"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people, is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Dr. Andrew Gerber, a psychiatrist, said that medical experts don't have a comprehensive understanding of what causes autism, but they do know there is a strong hereditary component.
Toxins from the environment could play a role, but currently, data does not support that they do, Gerber said.
Arguments are scheduled to go on throughout the month. A final decision could take several more months. Claims that are successful would result in compensation taking into account lost earnings after age 18 and up to $250,000 for pain and suffering.
The families or the federal government can also appeal the decision of the special master to the Court of Federal Claims or to a federal appeals court.
The court Web site says more than 12,500 claims have been filed since creation of the program in 1987, including more than 5,300 autism cases, and more than $1.7 billion has been paid in claims. It says there is now more than $2.7 billion in a trust fund supported by an excise tax on each dose of vaccine covered by the program.
____
On the Net:
Background on thimerosal trial: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/node/4428
© 2008 The Associated Press
Mercury Causes Brain Cell Damage
Mercury = Brain Damage = Slow Painful Death! How much clearer can it get?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
US Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,354135,00.html
Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
Monday , May 05, 2008
Should doctors be allowed to play God?
In the case of a flu pandemic — yes, say government officials in a new report.
Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.
Who will die in the event of a pandemic? The very old, seriously hurt, severely burned and those with severe dementia, according to an influential group of physicians.
The group has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated.
The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report.
The idea is to try to make sure that scarce resources — including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses — are used in a uniform, objective way, task force members said.
Their recommendations appear in a report appearing Monday in the May edition of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include:
— People older than 85.
— Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
— Severely burned patients older than 60.
— Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.
— Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
Dr. Kevin Yeskey, director of the preparedness and emergency operations office at the Department of Health and Human Services, was on the task force. He said the report would be among many the agency reviews as part of preparedness efforts.
Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University called the report an important initiative but also "a political minefield and a legal minefield."
The recommendations would probably violate federal laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination, said Gostin, who was not on the task force.
If followed to a tee, such rules could exclude care for the poorest, most disadvantaged citizens who suffer disproportionately from chronic disease and disability, he said. While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, "there are some real ethical concerns here."
James Bentley, a senior vice president at American Hospital Association, said the report will give guidance to hospitals in shaping their own preparedness plans even if they don't follow all the suggestions.
He said the proposals resemble a battlefield approach in which limited health care resources are reserved for those most likely to survive.
Bentley said it's not the first time this type of approach has been recommended for a catastrophic pandemic, but that "this is the most detailed one I have seen from a professional group."
While the notion of rationing health care is unpleasant, the report could help the public understand that it will be necessary, Bentley said.
Devereaux said compiling the list "was emotionally difficult for everyone."
That's partly because members believe it's just a matter of time before such a health care disaster hits, she said.
"You never know," Devereaux said. "SARS took a lot of folks by surprise. We didn't even know it existed."
— The Associated Press
Government Report Answers Who Lives, Who Dies in Flu Pandemic
Monday , May 05, 2008
Should doctors be allowed to play God?
In the case of a flu pandemic — yes, say government officials in a new report.
Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die.
Who will die in the event of a pandemic? The very old, seriously hurt, severely burned and those with severe dementia, according to an influential group of physicians.
The group has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated.
The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report.
The idea is to try to make sure that scarce resources — including ventilators, medicine and doctors and nurses — are used in a uniform, objective way, task force members said.
Their recommendations appear in a report appearing Monday in the May edition of Chest, the medical journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
"If a mass casualty critical care event were to occur tomorrow, many people with clinical conditions that are survivable under usual health care system conditions may have to forgo life-sustaining interventions owing to deficiencies in supply or staffing," the report states.
To prepare, hospitals should designate a triage team with the Godlike task of deciding who will and who won't get lifesaving care, the task force wrote. Those out of luck are the people at high risk of death and a slim chance of long-term survival. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include:
— People older than 85.
— Those with severe trauma, which could include critical injuries from car crashes and shootings.
— Severely burned patients older than 60.
— Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease.
— Those with a severe chronic disease, such as advanced heart failure, lung disease or poorly controlled diabetes.
Dr. Kevin Yeskey, director of the preparedness and emergency operations office at the Department of Health and Human Services, was on the task force. He said the report would be among many the agency reviews as part of preparedness efforts.
Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University called the report an important initiative but also "a political minefield and a legal minefield."
The recommendations would probably violate federal laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination, said Gostin, who was not on the task force.
If followed to a tee, such rules could exclude care for the poorest, most disadvantaged citizens who suffer disproportionately from chronic disease and disability, he said. While health care rationing will be necessary in a mass disaster, "there are some real ethical concerns here."
James Bentley, a senior vice president at American Hospital Association, said the report will give guidance to hospitals in shaping their own preparedness plans even if they don't follow all the suggestions.
He said the proposals resemble a battlefield approach in which limited health care resources are reserved for those most likely to survive.
Bentley said it's not the first time this type of approach has been recommended for a catastrophic pandemic, but that "this is the most detailed one I have seen from a professional group."
While the notion of rationing health care is unpleasant, the report could help the public understand that it will be necessary, Bentley said.
Devereaux said compiling the list "was emotionally difficult for everyone."
That's partly because members believe it's just a matter of time before such a health care disaster hits, she said.
"You never know," Devereaux said. "SARS took a lot of folks by surprise. We didn't even know it existed."
— The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
I will take my risk with natural exposure to the childhood diseases over vaccination any day.
*****
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNqVbEk87YKN2ve20_ppTYGyBidA
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
TORONTO — We call them the diseases of childhood - measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, to name a few.
But now that these diseases seldom circulate in countries that immunize against them and immune protection is rarely being naturally refreshed or "boosted" by sporadic exposure, is there a risk that in the future, older adults may find themselves unexpectedly vulnerable to these disease pests from their past?
As we head into a world where an ever growing - and aging - proportion of the population only has vaccine-acquired protection, what is really known about how long immunity is likely to endure? For that matter, can science be sure that immunity generated by infection - thought for many diseases to be lifelong - will actually hold true in the vaccine age?
"I don't think we know much at all," acknowledges Dr. Samuel Katz, co-inventor of the measles vaccine and a pediatric infectious disease expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Figuring out answers about the durability of immunity - naturally and vaccine-acquired - in a time without natural boosting won't be easy.
But the last generation to have routinely suffered through most of these diseases is crossing through mid-life and the first generation to have avoided them is hovering around 40.
As both groups head toward the so-called golden years when possible waning immunity may be exacerbated by the age-related decline of the immune system, gauging the levels of society's disease defences could become key to keeping these nasty invaders out of our communities, experts say.
Dr. Michael Osterholm says scientists should be doing long-term immunity studies - following groups of people for decades - in the way cancer researchers track groups of people to try to discern what causes cancer.
"That would help us understand at what point does the level of protection drop for a population. Not any one individual. But a population norm where you would now recommend that a booster shot should occur as a standard of medical practice," suggests Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Before vaccination became commonplace, adults often came in contact with youngsters suffering from mumps, measles and the other childhood diseases. That remained the case in the early days of vaccine administration when these diseases still commonly circulated.
If people had protection - natural or vaccine-acquired - those exposures were actually helpful. They acted as a sort of natural booster shot, reminding the immune system to be on guard for this threat.
Some experts now suggest these unrecorded natural boosts may have led medicine to overestimate the durability of immunity generated by childhood vaccinations and maybe even natural infection, though it is thought to be more enduring than vaccine-acquired infection.
These days, few people are getting natural boosting to these diseases.
"What's happening if we don't have these exposures? I don't know," Katz admits.
These questions about the durability of immunity are on the minds of public health authorities in countries where childhood vaccines have been in longest use, says Dr. Jane Seward, an expert in vaccine-preventable diseases with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
"It's certainly a reasonable hypothesis that immunity might wane more quickly in the absence of external boosting. Whether that's the case or not, we don't know. But it's a reasonable thing to postulate," she says.
Seward's group at the CDC is following people who were vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine about 15 years ago to track how well their protection is holding up. They hope to mount a similar effort to study chickenpox vaccine, which was only put into broad use in the U.S. and Canada in the mid-to late-1990s.
Others, though, acknowledge the long-term studies needed to assess immunity levels generated by the range of childhood vaccines haven't been undertaken in a systematic manner.
"We have not methodically - we being the field of public health officials, scientists - we have not methodically measured the level of immune responses to standard childhood diseases vaccines that people have received one, two, three, four, five decades earlier," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"It has been done mostly in a reactive mode," he says, pointing as an example to work done to understand a large outbreak of mumps in Iowa in 2006.
The full picture of the durability of immunity in the vaccine era will probably take decades to come into sharp focus. And the answers will likely vary from disease to disease, Fauci and others say.
For instance, U.S. studies done to test whether smallpox vaccinations given decades ago offered any current protection showed that those who had been vaccinated probably still have protective immunity. "We were stunned," Fauci says.
But a soon-to-be published study by some of Seward's CDC colleagues - done as part of the Iowa mumps investigation - shows antibody levels to the mumps virus had declined markedly in people who had received the recommended two doses of vaccine 15 years or more earlier. That suggests the vaccine's protection is less enduring than would have been hoped.
The fact that the protection may not be lifelong should not be characterized as a failure of the vaccines, public health experts say. The years of protection they have already conferred have dramatically slashed rates of once common diseases.
Consider measles: Where 300,000 to 400,000 Canadian children used to contract the disease every year, now an outbreak of fewer than a handful of cases - such as a recent cluster in Toronto - makes the news.
Given that measles has a complication rate of 20 per cent and that the World Health Organization estimates measles killed 242,000 children around the globe in 2006, proponents term vaccines as a modern day medical miracle.
Experts also warn that the fact that immunity may not be lifelong should not be used to argue for natural infection over immunization.
"Never forget natural infection comes at a great cost, both potentially to the individual and definitely to society," Osterholm insists. "Each infection is a crapshoot as to whether it's going to be mild, moderate, severe or fatal. And those are odds none of us should have to take."
The end result of the investigation into the durability of immunity in the vaccine age could be a recognition that adults need booster shots to prevent outbreaks of what we now consider childhood diseases. Osterholm, for one, thinks that's likely.
Fauci isn't sure, suggesting the lack of natural boosting highlights the fact that exposures to the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases are rare in North America.
"There is a potential risk. I mean you'd have to say that. I'm not so sure how great a risk it's going to be."
Should emerging data show adults will need booster shots for childhood diseases, vaccine delivery programs will have to be reorganized to look at issues of who pays and how best to ensure adults actually get the shots, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion.
"Adult immunization is woefully neglected," notes Henry, an infectious diseases expert with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
"And I don't know what the answer's going to be in that but it does pose a whole bunch of challenges because we don't have the access to people (adults) in the same way that we do when you're in school."
*****
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNqVbEk87YKN2ve20_ppTYGyBidA
Changing patterns in vaccine era pose questions about durability of immunity
TORONTO — We call them the diseases of childhood - measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, to name a few.
But now that these diseases seldom circulate in countries that immunize against them and immune protection is rarely being naturally refreshed or "boosted" by sporadic exposure, is there a risk that in the future, older adults may find themselves unexpectedly vulnerable to these disease pests from their past?
As we head into a world where an ever growing - and aging - proportion of the population only has vaccine-acquired protection, what is really known about how long immunity is likely to endure? For that matter, can science be sure that immunity generated by infection - thought for many diseases to be lifelong - will actually hold true in the vaccine age?
"I don't think we know much at all," acknowledges Dr. Samuel Katz, co-inventor of the measles vaccine and a pediatric infectious disease expert at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Figuring out answers about the durability of immunity - naturally and vaccine-acquired - in a time without natural boosting won't be easy.
But the last generation to have routinely suffered through most of these diseases is crossing through mid-life and the first generation to have avoided them is hovering around 40.
As both groups head toward the so-called golden years when possible waning immunity may be exacerbated by the age-related decline of the immune system, gauging the levels of society's disease defences could become key to keeping these nasty invaders out of our communities, experts say.
Dr. Michael Osterholm says scientists should be doing long-term immunity studies - following groups of people for decades - in the way cancer researchers track groups of people to try to discern what causes cancer.
"That would help us understand at what point does the level of protection drop for a population. Not any one individual. But a population norm where you would now recommend that a booster shot should occur as a standard of medical practice," suggests Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Before vaccination became commonplace, adults often came in contact with youngsters suffering from mumps, measles and the other childhood diseases. That remained the case in the early days of vaccine administration when these diseases still commonly circulated.
If people had protection - natural or vaccine-acquired - those exposures were actually helpful. They acted as a sort of natural booster shot, reminding the immune system to be on guard for this threat.
Some experts now suggest these unrecorded natural boosts may have led medicine to overestimate the durability of immunity generated by childhood vaccinations and maybe even natural infection, though it is thought to be more enduring than vaccine-acquired infection.
These days, few people are getting natural boosting to these diseases.
"What's happening if we don't have these exposures? I don't know," Katz admits.
These questions about the durability of immunity are on the minds of public health authorities in countries where childhood vaccines have been in longest use, says Dr. Jane Seward, an expert in vaccine-preventable diseases with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
"It's certainly a reasonable hypothesis that immunity might wane more quickly in the absence of external boosting. Whether that's the case or not, we don't know. But it's a reasonable thing to postulate," she says.
Seward's group at the CDC is following people who were vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine about 15 years ago to track how well their protection is holding up. They hope to mount a similar effort to study chickenpox vaccine, which was only put into broad use in the U.S. and Canada in the mid-to late-1990s.
Others, though, acknowledge the long-term studies needed to assess immunity levels generated by the range of childhood vaccines haven't been undertaken in a systematic manner.
"We have not methodically - we being the field of public health officials, scientists - we have not methodically measured the level of immune responses to standard childhood diseases vaccines that people have received one, two, three, four, five decades earlier," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"It has been done mostly in a reactive mode," he says, pointing as an example to work done to understand a large outbreak of mumps in Iowa in 2006.
The full picture of the durability of immunity in the vaccine era will probably take decades to come into sharp focus. And the answers will likely vary from disease to disease, Fauci and others say.
For instance, U.S. studies done to test whether smallpox vaccinations given decades ago offered any current protection showed that those who had been vaccinated probably still have protective immunity. "We were stunned," Fauci says.
But a soon-to-be published study by some of Seward's CDC colleagues - done as part of the Iowa mumps investigation - shows antibody levels to the mumps virus had declined markedly in people who had received the recommended two doses of vaccine 15 years or more earlier. That suggests the vaccine's protection is less enduring than would have been hoped.
The fact that the protection may not be lifelong should not be characterized as a failure of the vaccines, public health experts say. The years of protection they have already conferred have dramatically slashed rates of once common diseases.
Consider measles: Where 300,000 to 400,000 Canadian children used to contract the disease every year, now an outbreak of fewer than a handful of cases - such as a recent cluster in Toronto - makes the news.
Given that measles has a complication rate of 20 per cent and that the World Health Organization estimates measles killed 242,000 children around the globe in 2006, proponents term vaccines as a modern day medical miracle.
Experts also warn that the fact that immunity may not be lifelong should not be used to argue for natural infection over immunization.
"Never forget natural infection comes at a great cost, both potentially to the individual and definitely to society," Osterholm insists. "Each infection is a crapshoot as to whether it's going to be mild, moderate, severe or fatal. And those are odds none of us should have to take."
The end result of the investigation into the durability of immunity in the vaccine age could be a recognition that adults need booster shots to prevent outbreaks of what we now consider childhood diseases. Osterholm, for one, thinks that's likely.
Fauci isn't sure, suggesting the lack of natural boosting highlights the fact that exposures to the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases are rare in North America.
"There is a potential risk. I mean you'd have to say that. I'm not so sure how great a risk it's going to be."
Should emerging data show adults will need booster shots for childhood diseases, vaccine delivery programs will have to be reorganized to look at issues of who pays and how best to ensure adults actually get the shots, says Dr. Bonnie Henry, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion.
"Adult immunization is woefully neglected," notes Henry, an infectious diseases expert with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
"And I don't know what the answer's going to be in that but it does pose a whole bunch of challenges because we don't have the access to people (adults) in the same way that we do when you're in school."
CDC lies about MEASLES outbreak
More proof the CDC is spinning this outbreak out of control in an effort to scare people into the MMR vaccine. When will the madness end?
http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/05/deja-vu-spinning-measles.html
Deja Vu: Spinning Measles
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Last week, CDC officials began spinning the significance of 64 cases of measles reported during the past four months in contrast to the 37 to 508 cases of measles reported annually between 1996 and 2006 in the U.S.. One-quarter (14) of the 64 children and adults who got measles in the past four months were hospitalized but there were no deaths.
A CDC press release and Fact Sheet revealed that nearly half of the 64 measles cases occurred in those too young to be vaccinated or whose vaccination status was not known. Only one fifth (14) of the cases were American children whose parents claimed a religious or personal belief exemption. This fact didn't stop CDC officials from trying to blame the measles "outbreaks" on the exemption-takers by stating "These cases and outbreaks resulted primarily from failure to vaccinate, many because of religious or personal belief exemption."
In addition, the CDC made the following undocumented statement: "Before the measles vaccination program, about 3- 4 million persons in the U.S. were infected each year, of whom 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis." A quick look at the MMWR historical tables shows that the highest number of measles cases reported since 1945 in the U.S. was 763,094 cases reported in 1958.
What is the real story behind the hyping of 64 cases of measles and attempting to demonize parents who have taken religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination? Are government health officials trying to deflect attention from the reality that even with a 95-100 percent measles vaccine uptake for children entering kindergarten in two- thirds of the states and a 92 to 95 percent vaccine uptake in all but four states, two doses of measles vaccine does not prevent measles from circulating in the population? Are they softening up the public for a future announcement insisting that a third dose of MMR vaccine must be mandated to "eradicate" measles?
After the first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963 and began to be used on a mass basis in the U.S., health officials estimated the herd immunity threshold was as low as 55 percent vaccine coverage in a population receiving one dose of measles vaccine. (free registration to Medscape required, or click here to view the Abstract in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 25(12):1093- 1101, December 2006) When that belief failed to "eradicate"measles, in 1971 the herd immunity estimate was raised to more than 90 percent coverage and the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative was launched with an aggressive enforcement of mandatory vaccination laws. However, by 1989 it was obvious that even with a 95 percent plus vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten in most states, measles was still circulating with about 55,000 cases reported between 1989 and 1991.
Without conducting a thorough investigation to find out why there were measles increases between 1989 and 1991 in a highly vaccinated population or why the measles being seen was unusually virulent, CDC officials announced that all children must get a second dose of measles vaccine. But measles infections persisted and, in 1995, the National Vaccine Information Center reported on informed consent violations and child deaths in a large worldwide high titer measles vaccine experiment in which a very potent experimental measles vaccine was given to children under six months old to try to over- ride maternal antibodies. By 1998, eight distinct genetic groups of wild type measles were identified worldwide in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.
By 2006, vaccine developers had raised the estimated herd immunity coverage rate for measles eradication to between 93 to 95 percent but obviously even that extremely high coverage rate in most states is not enough to do the job. So what comes next? Will the CDC call for the National Guard to go door-to-door armed with syringes containing measles vaccine to make sure there is not one unvaccinated person in the country?
Measles vaccine, which is part of the combination live virus MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage. There have been nearly 45,000 reports of health problems associated with MMR vaccination made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . However, there is gross underreporting to VAERS and it is estimated that, for example, fewer than 4 percent of all cases of thrombocytopenia (potentially fatal blood disorder) following MMR vaccination are ever reported to VAERS.
In 1997, Andrew Wakefield, M.D. and his colleagues published findings indicating that the MMR vaccine may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease and autism in a subset of children, a scientific debate that continues today.
Parents contact the National Vaccine Information Center every week to file MMR vaccine reaction reports in the NVIC Vaccine Reaction Registry and describe how their children are suffering high fevers, seizures, brain inflammation and regression into autism after MMR vaccination. To view some of these reaction reports, go to the International Memorial for Vaccine Victims .
The CDC's one-size-fits-all, no-exceptions MMR vaccine policies allow almost no contraindications to MMR vaccine use. According to the CDC, a child can be sick at the time of vaccination or recovering from an illness; have a fever; be taking antibiotics; have a history of allergies; or have experienced a seizure or regression after a previous MMR shot and still be eligible for more MMR vaccine.
With oppressive "no missed opportunities" vaccination policies in place, it is no wonder more parents are filing religious and personal belief exemptions to vaccination. Some have no other choice, especially if their children have experienced previous serious health problems following vaccination and they cannot find a doctor to write a medical exemption. Others want to choose less toxic alternatives to vaccination to maintain health and wellness.
Non-medical vaccine exemptions for religious and personal beliefs are all that stand between the people and tyranny when doctors inside and outside of government take an extreme, utilitarian approach to infectious disease control and write off vaccine casualties as acceptable losses. Today, 1 in every 6 highly vaccinated American child is learning disabled, 1 in 9 is asthmatic and 1 in 100 to 150 develops autism while measles and other childhood diseases persist no matter how many doses are given or how high the vaccine coverage rate.
It is time for parents and legislators to take a hard look at whether trying to eradicate many diseases with forced use of multiple vaccines is a fundamentally flawed policy that has failed to achieve better individual or public health. It is time for vaccines, which are pharmaceutical products made and sold by corporations for profit, to be subject to the law of supply and demand rather than be financially subsidized and forced by government on the people.
http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/05/deja-vu-spinning-measles.html
Deja Vu: Spinning Measles
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Last week, CDC officials began spinning the significance of 64 cases of measles reported during the past four months in contrast to the 37 to 508 cases of measles reported annually between 1996 and 2006 in the U.S.. One-quarter (14) of the 64 children and adults who got measles in the past four months were hospitalized but there were no deaths.
A CDC press release and Fact Sheet revealed that nearly half of the 64 measles cases occurred in those too young to be vaccinated or whose vaccination status was not known. Only one fifth (14) of the cases were American children whose parents claimed a religious or personal belief exemption. This fact didn't stop CDC officials from trying to blame the measles "outbreaks" on the exemption-takers by stating "These cases and outbreaks resulted primarily from failure to vaccinate, many because of religious or personal belief exemption."
In addition, the CDC made the following undocumented statement: "Before the measles vaccination program, about 3- 4 million persons in the U.S. were infected each year, of whom 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis." A quick look at the MMWR historical tables shows that the highest number of measles cases reported since 1945 in the U.S. was 763,094 cases reported in 1958.
What is the real story behind the hyping of 64 cases of measles and attempting to demonize parents who have taken religious or personal belief exemptions to vaccination? Are government health officials trying to deflect attention from the reality that even with a 95-100 percent measles vaccine uptake for children entering kindergarten in two- thirds of the states and a 92 to 95 percent vaccine uptake in all but four states, two doses of measles vaccine does not prevent measles from circulating in the population? Are they softening up the public for a future announcement insisting that a third dose of MMR vaccine must be mandated to "eradicate" measles?
After the first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963 and began to be used on a mass basis in the U.S., health officials estimated the herd immunity threshold was as low as 55 percent vaccine coverage in a population receiving one dose of measles vaccine. (free registration to Medscape required, or click here to view the Abstract in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 25(12):1093- 1101, December 2006) When that belief failed to "eradicate"measles, in 1971 the herd immunity estimate was raised to more than 90 percent coverage and the 1977 Childhood Immunization Initiative was launched with an aggressive enforcement of mandatory vaccination laws. However, by 1989 it was obvious that even with a 95 percent plus vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten in most states, measles was still circulating with about 55,000 cases reported between 1989 and 1991.
Without conducting a thorough investigation to find out why there were measles increases between 1989 and 1991 in a highly vaccinated population or why the measles being seen was unusually virulent, CDC officials announced that all children must get a second dose of measles vaccine. But measles infections persisted and, in 1995, the National Vaccine Information Center reported on informed consent violations and child deaths in a large worldwide high titer measles vaccine experiment in which a very potent experimental measles vaccine was given to children under six months old to try to over- ride maternal antibodies. By 1998, eight distinct genetic groups of wild type measles were identified worldwide in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.
By 2006, vaccine developers had raised the estimated herd immunity coverage rate for measles eradication to between 93 to 95 percent but obviously even that extremely high coverage rate in most states is not enough to do the job. So what comes next? Will the CDC call for the National Guard to go door-to-door armed with syringes containing measles vaccine to make sure there is not one unvaccinated person in the country?
Measles vaccine, which is part of the combination live virus MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage. There have been nearly 45,000 reports of health problems associated with MMR vaccination made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . However, there is gross underreporting to VAERS and it is estimated that, for example, fewer than 4 percent of all cases of thrombocytopenia (potentially fatal blood disorder) following MMR vaccination are ever reported to VAERS.
In 1997, Andrew Wakefield, M.D. and his colleagues published findings indicating that the MMR vaccine may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease and autism in a subset of children, a scientific debate that continues today.
Parents contact the National Vaccine Information Center every week to file MMR vaccine reaction reports in the NVIC Vaccine Reaction Registry and describe how their children are suffering high fevers, seizures, brain inflammation and regression into autism after MMR vaccination. To view some of these reaction reports, go to the International Memorial for Vaccine Victims .
The CDC's one-size-fits-all, no-exceptions MMR vaccine policies allow almost no contraindications to MMR vaccine use. According to the CDC, a child can be sick at the time of vaccination or recovering from an illness; have a fever; be taking antibiotics; have a history of allergies; or have experienced a seizure or regression after a previous MMR shot and still be eligible for more MMR vaccine.
With oppressive "no missed opportunities" vaccination policies in place, it is no wonder more parents are filing religious and personal belief exemptions to vaccination. Some have no other choice, especially if their children have experienced previous serious health problems following vaccination and they cannot find a doctor to write a medical exemption. Others want to choose less toxic alternatives to vaccination to maintain health and wellness.
Non-medical vaccine exemptions for religious and personal beliefs are all that stand between the people and tyranny when doctors inside and outside of government take an extreme, utilitarian approach to infectious disease control and write off vaccine casualties as acceptable losses. Today, 1 in every 6 highly vaccinated American child is learning disabled, 1 in 9 is asthmatic and 1 in 100 to 150 develops autism while measles and other childhood diseases persist no matter how many doses are given or how high the vaccine coverage rate.
It is time for parents and legislators to take a hard look at whether trying to eradicate many diseases with forced use of multiple vaccines is a fundamentally flawed policy that has failed to achieve better individual or public health. It is time for vaccines, which are pharmaceutical products made and sold by corporations for profit, to be subject to the law of supply and demand rather than be financially subsidized and forced by government on the people.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports, Sadly they think that's just fine!
Only the CDC would have the nerve to say that fainting after a vaccine is "not in itself dangerous" Do these morons think we are that stupid?
*****
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKN0141572220080501
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unprecedented number of U.S. youngsters are fainting after getting shots, especially teenage girls, and doctors need to keep an eye on them, federal health experts cautioned on Thursday.
At least 463 people fainted after getting vaccinated during an 18-month period from 2005 to 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Such fainting is not uncommon and not in itself dangerous -- but some of the patients hit their heads on the floor and at least one had a car accident, the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.
One 15-year-old boy died after hitting his head.
More cases may have been reported lately because of new vaccines -- notably against meningitis and the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer -- now recommended for adolescents and older children.
Very young children and babies get a battery of vaccinations in the United States, but vaccinations of older children and teens were not as routine until recent years.
"A girl aged 13 years fainted within 10 minutes of receiving HPV and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccinations," the CDC report reads.
"She fell backward and hit her head on the carpeted floor of the clinic." She fractured her skull and had bleeding on the brain but recovered.
"Providers should strongly consider observing patients for 15 minutes after they are vaccinated," the CDC recommended.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
*****
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKN0141572220080501
More kids fainting after shots, CDC reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unprecedented number of U.S. youngsters are fainting after getting shots, especially teenage girls, and doctors need to keep an eye on them, federal health experts cautioned on Thursday.
At least 463 people fainted after getting vaccinated during an 18-month period from 2005 to 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Such fainting is not uncommon and not in itself dangerous -- but some of the patients hit their heads on the floor and at least one had a car accident, the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease.
One 15-year-old boy died after hitting his head.
More cases may have been reported lately because of new vaccines -- notably against meningitis and the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer -- now recommended for adolescents and older children.
Very young children and babies get a battery of vaccinations in the United States, but vaccinations of older children and teens were not as routine until recent years.
"A girl aged 13 years fainted within 10 minutes of receiving HPV and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccinations," the CDC report reads.
"She fell backward and hit her head on the carpeted floor of the clinic." She fractured her skull and had bleeding on the brain but recovered.
"Providers should strongly consider observing patients for 15 minutes after they are vaccinated," the CDC recommended.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and Eric Walsh)
Friday, May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
36 out of 64 were not vaccinated--a little over half. 14 vax status unknown, one had proof of vaccination. What about the other 13? How is 36 "most?
Also, anyone reading this free to point me in the direction of the measles because the CDC is really playing up the scare tactics on this one. As most people know I am a film maker with a long life ahead of me and if I thought for one second they would be as bad as the CDC is trying to say I would not be so willing to catch them as part of my anti vaccine documentary now would I?
*****
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/health/02measles.html?ref=health
May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
By DENISE GRADY
Measles outbreaks in at least seven states are expected to produce more cases in 2008 than in any other recent year, federal health officials said Thursday, warning that measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death.
Most of the cases have occurred in people who were never vaccinated.
There were 64 cases from January through April 25, more than in all of 2006 and the highest number during that four-month period since 2001. None have yet proved fatal, but officials said they expected the total to keep rising.
"We haven't seen the end of this," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fourteen patients, or 22 percent, have been hospitalized, mostly for pneumonia.
The largest outbreak, 22 cases, is under way in New York City, mainly in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, where it was most likely introduced by travelers from other countries, including Israel and Belgium.
"There may be more cases," said Dr. Jane R. Zucker, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Immunization in the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Zucker said the New York outbreak was still being investigated.
As in New York, the other outbreaks are occurring because travelers bring the measles virus in from other countries — worldwide there are 20 million cases a year — and spread it to unvaccinated people. The unvaccinated include babies under a year old, who are too young to receive the vaccine, and children and young adults from families who refuse vaccination for personal or religious reasons.
The disease can then keep spreading. Dr. Schuchat said doctors were finding clusters with as many as five generations of transmission. She said many of today's parents, doctors and nurses were unfamiliar with measles and not on the lookout for it.
In 17 cases, patients were infected in clinics and doctors' offices, including a year-old baby who contracted the disease in a pediatrician's office during a routine visit — for a measles shot.
Health officials are warning doctors and nurses to take special precautions to avoid spreading the disease in clinics. Children with fevers and rashes should not sit in waiting rooms, and other children should not be brought into an examining room that a child suspected of having measles has just left, because the virus can linger and remain infectious for about two hours.
In the current outbreak, 13 patients were under a year old and therefore too young to have been vaccinated, and 7 others were 12 to 15 months old, with parents who had not yet taken them for their first vaccination, which is due at 1 year. Sixteen others, who were older, came from families that refused vaccination. Fourteen more had what officials described as "unknown or undocumented vaccination status." Only one person had proof of having received the standard two doses of measles vaccine.
In one family in Washington State, eight siblings came down with measles, and three of them had signs of pneumonia, a serious complication. These cases were reported after April 25 and so are in addition to the 64 described by the disease centers on Thursday.
The eight siblings are believed to have contracted measles at a religious conference attended by about 2,000 people from 5 countries and 19 states. None of the eight had been vaccinated. Forty-eight states allow exemptions from vaccine requirements for religious reasons, and 21 for personal beliefs, the C.D.C. said.
Growing numbers of parents in the United States and other countries have begun refusing to vaccinate their children because of unproven fears that vaccines cause autism or other illnesses. Health officials blame the trend for the resurgence of measles in many regions. Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Britain have had large outbreaks recently, linked to pockets of people who shun vaccination.
Given the outbreaks overseas, travelers need to be immunized, Dr. Schuchat emphasized, acknowledging that many people do not think of Europe or Israel as places where they have to worry about catching infectious diseases. Babies who are going to be taken on trips can be given a measles shot at 6 months instead of 1 year, officials said.
People who have not been immunized and have been exposed to measles can often be protected with a vaccination or treatment with immune globulin, but the treatment must be given soon after the exposure. Health departments are supposed to track all the contacts of infected people and advise them about what to do, officials said.
Counting the Washington occurrence, 10 states have measles cases, though only seven have three or more, the disease centers' definition of an outbreak. Besides New York City, the highest numbers are in Pima County in southern Arizona, with 15, and San Diego, with 11. The San Diego and Arizona cases have been traced to travelers from Switzerland. Cases in other states have come from Italy, India and probably China.
The remaining states with cases are Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"I think it's important for states who aren't on that list to have their alerts up," Dr. Schuchat said. "We know there are unimmunized people out there, and measles is extremely infectious. Not being on the list shouldn't be reassuring."
Before 1963, when the vaccine became available in this country, there were three million to four million cases of measles annually. The disease killed 400 to 500 children a year and put 48,000 in the hospital.
The vaccine wiped out transmission here by 2000, but the disease can easily be imported because there are so many cases overseas. Worldwide, measles still kills 242,000 children a year.
A report on the outbreaks is online at cdc.gov.
Also, anyone reading this free to point me in the direction of the measles because the CDC is really playing up the scare tactics on this one. As most people know I am a film maker with a long life ahead of me and if I thought for one second they would be as bad as the CDC is trying to say I would not be so willing to catch them as part of my anti vaccine documentary now would I?
*****
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/health/02measles.html?ref=health
May 2, 2008
Measles in U.S. at Highest Level Since 2001
By DENISE GRADY
Measles outbreaks in at least seven states are expected to produce more cases in 2008 than in any other recent year, federal health officials said Thursday, warning that measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and even death.
Most of the cases have occurred in people who were never vaccinated.
There were 64 cases from January through April 25, more than in all of 2006 and the highest number during that four-month period since 2001. None have yet proved fatal, but officials said they expected the total to keep rising.
"We haven't seen the end of this," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fourteen patients, or 22 percent, have been hospitalized, mostly for pneumonia.
The largest outbreak, 22 cases, is under way in New York City, mainly in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, where it was most likely introduced by travelers from other countries, including Israel and Belgium.
"There may be more cases," said Dr. Jane R. Zucker, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Immunization in the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Dr. Zucker said the New York outbreak was still being investigated.
As in New York, the other outbreaks are occurring because travelers bring the measles virus in from other countries — worldwide there are 20 million cases a year — and spread it to unvaccinated people. The unvaccinated include babies under a year old, who are too young to receive the vaccine, and children and young adults from families who refuse vaccination for personal or religious reasons.
The disease can then keep spreading. Dr. Schuchat said doctors were finding clusters with as many as five generations of transmission. She said many of today's parents, doctors and nurses were unfamiliar with measles and not on the lookout for it.
In 17 cases, patients were infected in clinics and doctors' offices, including a year-old baby who contracted the disease in a pediatrician's office during a routine visit — for a measles shot.
Health officials are warning doctors and nurses to take special precautions to avoid spreading the disease in clinics. Children with fevers and rashes should not sit in waiting rooms, and other children should not be brought into an examining room that a child suspected of having measles has just left, because the virus can linger and remain infectious for about two hours.
In the current outbreak, 13 patients were under a year old and therefore too young to have been vaccinated, and 7 others were 12 to 15 months old, with parents who had not yet taken them for their first vaccination, which is due at 1 year. Sixteen others, who were older, came from families that refused vaccination. Fourteen more had what officials described as "unknown or undocumented vaccination status." Only one person had proof of having received the standard two doses of measles vaccine.
In one family in Washington State, eight siblings came down with measles, and three of them had signs of pneumonia, a serious complication. These cases were reported after April 25 and so are in addition to the 64 described by the disease centers on Thursday.
The eight siblings are believed to have contracted measles at a religious conference attended by about 2,000 people from 5 countries and 19 states. None of the eight had been vaccinated. Forty-eight states allow exemptions from vaccine requirements for religious reasons, and 21 for personal beliefs, the C.D.C. said.
Growing numbers of parents in the United States and other countries have begun refusing to vaccinate their children because of unproven fears that vaccines cause autism or other illnesses. Health officials blame the trend for the resurgence of measles in many regions. Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and Britain have had large outbreaks recently, linked to pockets of people who shun vaccination.
Given the outbreaks overseas, travelers need to be immunized, Dr. Schuchat emphasized, acknowledging that many people do not think of Europe or Israel as places where they have to worry about catching infectious diseases. Babies who are going to be taken on trips can be given a measles shot at 6 months instead of 1 year, officials said.
People who have not been immunized and have been exposed to measles can often be protected with a vaccination or treatment with immune globulin, but the treatment must be given soon after the exposure. Health departments are supposed to track all the contacts of infected people and advise them about what to do, officials said.
Counting the Washington occurrence, 10 states have measles cases, though only seven have three or more, the disease centers' definition of an outbreak. Besides New York City, the highest numbers are in Pima County in southern Arizona, with 15, and San Diego, with 11. The San Diego and Arizona cases have been traced to travelers from Switzerland. Cases in other states have come from Italy, India and probably China.
The remaining states with cases are Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
"I think it's important for states who aren't on that list to have their alerts up," Dr. Schuchat said. "We know there are unimmunized people out there, and measles is extremely infectious. Not being on the list shouldn't be reassuring."
Before 1963, when the vaccine became available in this country, there were three million to four million cases of measles annually. The disease killed 400 to 500 children a year and put 48,000 in the hospital.
The vaccine wiped out transmission here by 2000, but the disease can easily be imported because there are so many cases overseas. Worldwide, measles still kills 242,000 children a year.
A report on the outbreaks is online at cdc.gov.
Just another example of how Merck and other manifestations of big pharma are poisoning / contaminating humanity. What sickens me is there are people who would still vaccinate after reading this!
*****
FDA warns Merck to fix vaccine plant problems
By LINDA A. JOHNSON – 1 day ago
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has ordered Merck & Co. to correct numerous manufacturing deficiencies at its main vaccine plant, the latest in a string of setbacks for the drugmaker.
The agency on Wednesday released a warning letter sent to Merck's chief executive, Richard T. Clark, that states FDA inspectors determined manufacturing rules are not being followed at the plant in West Point, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.
The plant, which recalled two vaccines in December over sterility problems, makes a number of children's vaccines and four for adults.
The nine-page letter states FDA found "significant objectionable conditions" in the manufacture of vaccines and drug ingredients during repeated inspections from Nov. 26 to Jan. 17.
In a separate posting on its Web site, the agency said it issued the warning letter because Merck's response to the FDA report sent after the inspections was "inadequate to address the serious deviations noted."
According to the heavily redacted warning letter, Merck officials didn't thoroughly investigate when vaccine batches inexplicably failed to meet specifications, even if batches had been distributed, and some combination measles-mumps-rubella shots that failed "visual inspection for critical defects" were distributed anyway.
The letter also said the plant didn't have written procedures, tests or other laboratory controls to ensure "identity, strength, quality, and purity" of products.
However, in the Web site posting, the FDA said it "does not believe that the issues identified will affect the safety of the vaccines" made at West Point, or their availability.
"We're committed to working with the FDA to ensure that all these issues are addressed to their full satisfaction," said Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose, who added that the company does not distribute contaminated products.
"We are confident in the quality, effectiveness and safety of our medicines and vaccines," she said.
Rose said Merck would be submitting additional information to the FDA and discussing it in a meeting, which is requested in the warning letter. The letter was signed by David K. Elder, head of enforcement in the agency's Office of Regulatory Affairs.
Merck shares, hammered by FDA rejecting two of its experimental drugs since Friday, initially dropped about $1 on the news, then recovered. They ended Wednesday up 90 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $38.04.
The warning letter gives Merck 15 days to tell the FDA how it will correct the violations. If Merck does not comply, the letter states the FDA can take actions including suspending or revoking the plant's manufacturing license, seizing products or seeking injunctions, such as against product shipments.
"Warning letters help achieve voluntary compliance," FDA spokeswoman Mary Long said in an e-mail response to questions from The Associated Press. "Further action can be taken in the event violations remain uncorrected and would depend on the details of a given situation."
Production of two vaccines made at West Point — PedvaxHIB, to prevent Haemophilus influenza type B, and Comvax, a combination vaccine for Haemophilus B and hepatitis B — stopped last year and 1.2 million doses of them were recalled after a sterility problem was discovered in October.
The plant also makes ProQuad, which protects children against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox; hepatitis A, hepatitis B and meningitis vaccines for children and adults; and Gardasil, to protect young women against cervical cancer.
On the Net:
* FDA letter: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/wlcfm/recentfiles.cfm
* FDA Q&A posting: http://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/merckqa.htm
*****
FDA warns Merck to fix vaccine plant problems
By LINDA A. JOHNSON – 1 day ago
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has ordered Merck & Co. to correct numerous manufacturing deficiencies at its main vaccine plant, the latest in a string of setbacks for the drugmaker.
The agency on Wednesday released a warning letter sent to Merck's chief executive, Richard T. Clark, that states FDA inspectors determined manufacturing rules are not being followed at the plant in West Point, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.
The plant, which recalled two vaccines in December over sterility problems, makes a number of children's vaccines and four for adults.
The nine-page letter states FDA found "significant objectionable conditions" in the manufacture of vaccines and drug ingredients during repeated inspections from Nov. 26 to Jan. 17.
In a separate posting on its Web site, the agency said it issued the warning letter because Merck's response to the FDA report sent after the inspections was "inadequate to address the serious deviations noted."
According to the heavily redacted warning letter, Merck officials didn't thoroughly investigate when vaccine batches inexplicably failed to meet specifications, even if batches had been distributed, and some combination measles-mumps-rubella shots that failed "visual inspection for critical defects" were distributed anyway.
The letter also said the plant didn't have written procedures, tests or other laboratory controls to ensure "identity, strength, quality, and purity" of products.
However, in the Web site posting, the FDA said it "does not believe that the issues identified will affect the safety of the vaccines" made at West Point, or their availability.
"We're committed to working with the FDA to ensure that all these issues are addressed to their full satisfaction," said Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose, who added that the company does not distribute contaminated products.
"We are confident in the quality, effectiveness and safety of our medicines and vaccines," she said.
Rose said Merck would be submitting additional information to the FDA and discussing it in a meeting, which is requested in the warning letter. The letter was signed by David K. Elder, head of enforcement in the agency's Office of Regulatory Affairs.
Merck shares, hammered by FDA rejecting two of its experimental drugs since Friday, initially dropped about $1 on the news, then recovered. They ended Wednesday up 90 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $38.04.
The warning letter gives Merck 15 days to tell the FDA how it will correct the violations. If Merck does not comply, the letter states the FDA can take actions including suspending or revoking the plant's manufacturing license, seizing products or seeking injunctions, such as against product shipments.
"Warning letters help achieve voluntary compliance," FDA spokeswoman Mary Long said in an e-mail response to questions from The Associated Press. "Further action can be taken in the event violations remain uncorrected and would depend on the details of a given situation."
Production of two vaccines made at West Point — PedvaxHIB, to prevent Haemophilus influenza type B, and Comvax, a combination vaccine for Haemophilus B and hepatitis B — stopped last year and 1.2 million doses of them were recalled after a sterility problem was discovered in October.
The plant also makes ProQuad, which protects children against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox; hepatitis A, hepatitis B and meningitis vaccines for children and adults; and Gardasil, to protect young women against cervical cancer.
On the Net:
* FDA letter: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/wlcfm/recentfiles.cfm
* FDA Q&A posting: http://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/merckqa.htm
ABC HOW DARE YOU!
How dare ABC run a pro vaccine story and label it "Protecting Your Child From Improper Vaccination" This shows a true lack of ethics :( Improper vaccination would be a story on those poor kids who died in India from the MMR vaccine, not this one sided garbage.
*****
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/Germs/story?id=4751184&page=1
ABC News
Protecting Your Child From Improper Vaccination
Government Study Finds 1 in 4 Children Are Improperly Vaccinated
By JOHN McKENZIE
April 29, 2008—
Vaccinations are a childhood ritual and provide vital protection against diseases like measles, mumps, rubella and polio, which can be extremely dangerous for young children. But a report, issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found an alarming 28 percent of toddlers have not been vaccinated according to U.S. guidelines.
Elizabeth Luman of the CDC said, "It's not acceptable to have any child improperly or incompletely vaccinated, because that increases their risk of disease and also increases the risk of outbreaks in the community."
RECOMMENDED TIMES FOR YOUR CHILD'S VACCINES: Input your child's age, and this interactive vaccine scheduler will give you a list of recommended dates for all your child's vaccinations.
Earlier this year, measles outbreaks were reported in San Diego, Arizona and Wisconsin. Health officials said the problem was caused by people who had never been vaccinated, usually out of fear of vaccines. But this government survey is surprising because it affects children whose parents actually intended to have them vaccinated and believed that they had been fully vaccinated.
Government guidelines call for toddlers to get a series of at least 17 injections, protecting them against 15 different diseases. But the survey found that one in five children was actually missing one or more doses.
Do you know which vaccinations your child is missing? CLICK HERE for a step-by-step guide to obtaining and understanding your child's immunization records.
And according to Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov of the Cleveland Clinic, "Missing even a single dose may impair your immunity."
But mis-timing vaccination doses is also a problem. The government has an exact schedule for when each shot needs to be given. But the study found that one in twelve children got at least one vaccination too early in life.
"If you give them the vaccine at the wrong time, their immune system may not be developed enough to respond to that vaccine, and they may not develop immunity," Danziger-Isakov said.
Want to learn more about childhood vaccines? CLICK HERE for a backgrounder.
Pediatricians say giving vaccines earlier than recommended is often done out of convenience.
Some researchers said today's report should serve as a wake-up call to parents and pediatricians because much more needs to be done to ensure children get the full benefits and protection of these lifesaving vaccines.
Did you know an immunization registry can keep track of your child's records? CLICK HERE for more information.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
*****
http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/Germs/story?id=4751184&page=1
ABC News
Protecting Your Child From Improper Vaccination
Government Study Finds 1 in 4 Children Are Improperly Vaccinated
By JOHN McKENZIE
April 29, 2008—
Vaccinations are a childhood ritual and provide vital protection against diseases like measles, mumps, rubella and polio, which can be extremely dangerous for young children. But a report, issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found an alarming 28 percent of toddlers have not been vaccinated according to U.S. guidelines.
Elizabeth Luman of the CDC said, "It's not acceptable to have any child improperly or incompletely vaccinated, because that increases their risk of disease and also increases the risk of outbreaks in the community."
RECOMMENDED TIMES FOR YOUR CHILD'S VACCINES: Input your child's age, and this interactive vaccine scheduler will give you a list of recommended dates for all your child's vaccinations.
Earlier this year, measles outbreaks were reported in San Diego, Arizona and Wisconsin. Health officials said the problem was caused by people who had never been vaccinated, usually out of fear of vaccines. But this government survey is surprising because it affects children whose parents actually intended to have them vaccinated and believed that they had been fully vaccinated.
Government guidelines call for toddlers to get a series of at least 17 injections, protecting them against 15 different diseases. But the survey found that one in five children was actually missing one or more doses.
Do you know which vaccinations your child is missing? CLICK HERE for a step-by-step guide to obtaining and understanding your child's immunization records.
And according to Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov of the Cleveland Clinic, "Missing even a single dose may impair your immunity."
But mis-timing vaccination doses is also a problem. The government has an exact schedule for when each shot needs to be given. But the study found that one in twelve children got at least one vaccination too early in life.
"If you give them the vaccine at the wrong time, their immune system may not be developed enough to respond to that vaccine, and they may not develop immunity," Danziger-Isakov said.
Want to learn more about childhood vaccines? CLICK HERE for a backgrounder.
Pediatricians say giving vaccines earlier than recommended is often done out of convenience.
Some researchers said today's report should serve as a wake-up call to parents and pediatricians because much more needs to be done to ensure children get the full benefits and protection of these lifesaving vaccines.
Did you know an immunization registry can keep track of your child's records? CLICK HERE for more information.
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
MEASLES, MUMPS, RUBELLA, OH MY!
I love how the person who edited this video put the media aka propaganda machine in their place! Personally, I think this kid had Rubella (German Measles aka the 3 day Measles) and not the actual Measles because it cleared up way too fast, and if you watch the rest of the report they are going around as well. This is just my opinion of course!
Ask your doctor to sign this if he/she thinks Vaccines are safe
Ask your doctor to sign this if he/she thinks Vaccines are safe
Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety:
I (Physician's name, degree)_________________________, _____ am a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of ________________ . My State license number is _______________ , and my DEA number is _______________. My medical specialty is ______________________ .
I have a thorough understanding of the risks and benefits of all the medications that I prescribe for or administer to my patients. In the case of (Patient's name) ___________________________ , age _________________ , whom I have examined, I find that certain risk factors exist that justify the recommended vaccinations.
The following is a list of said risk factors and the vaccinations that will protect against them:
Risk Factor Vaccination:
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
I am aware that vaccines typically contain many of the following fillers:
• aluminum hydroxide
• aluminum phosphate
• ammonium sulfate
• amphotericin B
• animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,
• dog kidney, monkey kidney,
• chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
• calf (bovine) serum
• betapropiolactone
• fetal bovine serum
• formaldehyde
• formalin
• gelatin
• glycerol
• human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
• hydrolized gelatin
• mercury thimerosol
• monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• neomycin
• neomycin sulfate
• phenol red indicator
• phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
• potassium diphosphate
• potassium monophosphate
• polymyxin B
• polysorbate 20
• polysorbate 80
• porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
• residual MRC5 proteins
• sorbitol
• sucrose
• tri(n)butylphosphate,
• VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells, and
• washed sheep red blood
and, hereby, warrant that these ingredients are safe for injection into the body of my patient. Reports to the contrary, such as reports that mercury thimerosol causes severe neurological and immunological damage, are not credible. I am aware that some vaccines have been found to have been contaminated with Simian Virus 40 (SV-40) and that SV-40 is causally linked by some researchers to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and mesotheliomas in humans as well as in experimental animals.
I hereby give my assurance that the vaccines I employ in my practice do not contain SV 40 or any other live viruses. (Alternately, I hereby give my assurance that said SV-40 or other viruses pose no substantive risk to my patient.)
I hereby warrant that the vaccines I am recommending for the care of (Patient's name) _______________ _______________________ do not contain any cells from aborted human babies (also known as “fetuses”).
In order to protect my patient's well being, I have taken the following steps to guarantee that the vaccines I will use will contain no damaging contaminants.
Steps taken:
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I have personally investigated the reports made to the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) and state that it is my professional opinion that the vaccines I am recommending are safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.
The bases for my opinion are itemized on Exhibit A , attached hereto, “Physician's Bases for Professional Opinion of Vaccine Safety.” (Please itemize each recommended vaccine separately along with the bases for arriving at the conclusion that the vaccine is safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.)
The professional journal articles I have relied upon in the issuance of this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety are itemized on Exhibit B , attached hereto, “Scientific Articles in Support of Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety.” The professional journal articles that I have read which contain opinions adverse to my opinion are itemized on Exhibit C , attached hereto, “Scientific Articles Contrary to Physician's Opinion of Vaccine Safety.” The reasons for my determining that the articles in Exhibit C were invalid are delineated in Attachment D , attached hereto, “Physician's Reasons for Determining the Invalidity of Adverse Scientific Opinions.”
Hepatitis B:
I understand that 60% of patients who are vaccinated for Hepatitis B will lose detectable antibodies to Hepatitis B within 12 years. I understand that in 1996 only 54 cases of Hepatitis B were reported to the CDC in the 0-1 year age group. I understand that in the VAERS, there were 1,080 total reports of adverse reactions from Hepatitis B vaccine in 1996 in the 0-1 year age group, with 47 deaths reported. I understand that 50% of patients who contract Hepatitis B develop no symptoms after exposure. I understand that 30% will develop only flu-like symptoms and will have lifetime immunity.
I understand that 20% will develop the symptoms of the disease, but that 95% will fully recover and have lifetime immunity. I understand that 5% of the patients who are exposed to Hepatitis B will become chronic carriers of the disease. I understand that 75% of the chronic carriers will live with an asymptomatic infection and that only 25% of the chronic carriers will develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer, 10-30 years after the acute infection. The following studies have been performed to demonstrate the safety of the Hepatitis B vaccine in children under the age of 5 years.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In addition to the recommended vaccinations as protections against the above cited risk factors, I have recommended other non-vaccine measures to protect the health of my patient and have enumerated said non-vaccine measures on Exhibit D , attached hereto, “Non-vaccine Measures to Protect Against Risk Factors.”
I am issuing this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety in my professional capacity as the attending physician to (Patient's name) ________________________________.
Regardless of the legal entity under which I normally practice medicine, I am issuing this statement in both my business and individual capacities and hereby waive any statutory, Common Law, Constitutional, UCC, international treaty, and any other legal immunities from liability lawsuits in the instant case. I issue this document of my own free will after consultation with competent legal counsel whose name is _____________________________, an attorney admitted to the Bar in the State of __________________ .
__________________________________ (Name of Attending Physician)
__________________________________ L.S.
(Signature of Attending Physician)
Signed on this _______ day of ______________ A.D.
________
Witness: ___________________________________ Date: ________________________
Notary Public: ______________________________ Date: ________________________
Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety:
I (Physician's name, degree)_________________________, _____ am a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of ________________ . My State license number is _______________ , and my DEA number is _______________. My medical specialty is ______________________ .
I have a thorough understanding of the risks and benefits of all the medications that I prescribe for or administer to my patients. In the case of (Patient's name) ___________________________ , age _________________ , whom I have examined, I find that certain risk factors exist that justify the recommended vaccinations.
The following is a list of said risk factors and the vaccinations that will protect against them:
Risk Factor Vaccination:
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
I am aware that vaccines typically contain many of the following fillers:
• aluminum hydroxide
• aluminum phosphate
• ammonium sulfate
• amphotericin B
• animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,
• dog kidney, monkey kidney,
• chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
• calf (bovine) serum
• betapropiolactone
• fetal bovine serum
• formaldehyde
• formalin
• gelatin
• glycerol
• human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
• hydrolized gelatin
• mercury thimerosol
• monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• neomycin
• neomycin sulfate
• phenol red indicator
• phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
• potassium diphosphate
• potassium monophosphate
• polymyxin B
• polysorbate 20
• polysorbate 80
• porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
• residual MRC5 proteins
• sorbitol
• sucrose
• tri(n)butylphosphate,
• VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells, and
• washed sheep red blood
and, hereby, warrant that these ingredients are safe for injection into the body of my patient. Reports to the contrary, such as reports that mercury thimerosol causes severe neurological and immunological damage, are not credible. I am aware that some vaccines have been found to have been contaminated with Simian Virus 40 (SV-40) and that SV-40 is causally linked by some researchers to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and mesotheliomas in humans as well as in experimental animals.
I hereby give my assurance that the vaccines I employ in my practice do not contain SV 40 or any other live viruses. (Alternately, I hereby give my assurance that said SV-40 or other viruses pose no substantive risk to my patient.)
I hereby warrant that the vaccines I am recommending for the care of (Patient's name) _______________ _______________________ do not contain any cells from aborted human babies (also known as “fetuses”).
In order to protect my patient's well being, I have taken the following steps to guarantee that the vaccines I will use will contain no damaging contaminants.
Steps taken:
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I have personally investigated the reports made to the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) and state that it is my professional opinion that the vaccines I am recommending are safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.
The bases for my opinion are itemized on Exhibit A , attached hereto, “Physician's Bases for Professional Opinion of Vaccine Safety.” (Please itemize each recommended vaccine separately along with the bases for arriving at the conclusion that the vaccine is safe for administration to a child under the age of 5 years.)
The professional journal articles I have relied upon in the issuance of this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety are itemized on Exhibit B , attached hereto, “Scientific Articles in Support of Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety.” The professional journal articles that I have read which contain opinions adverse to my opinion are itemized on Exhibit C , attached hereto, “Scientific Articles Contrary to Physician's Opinion of Vaccine Safety.” The reasons for my determining that the articles in Exhibit C were invalid are delineated in Attachment D , attached hereto, “Physician's Reasons for Determining the Invalidity of Adverse Scientific Opinions.”
Hepatitis B:
I understand that 60% of patients who are vaccinated for Hepatitis B will lose detectable antibodies to Hepatitis B within 12 years. I understand that in 1996 only 54 cases of Hepatitis B were reported to the CDC in the 0-1 year age group. I understand that in the VAERS, there were 1,080 total reports of adverse reactions from Hepatitis B vaccine in 1996 in the 0-1 year age group, with 47 deaths reported. I understand that 50% of patients who contract Hepatitis B develop no symptoms after exposure. I understand that 30% will develop only flu-like symptoms and will have lifetime immunity.
I understand that 20% will develop the symptoms of the disease, but that 95% will fully recover and have lifetime immunity. I understand that 5% of the patients who are exposed to Hepatitis B will become chronic carriers of the disease. I understand that 75% of the chronic carriers will live with an asymptomatic infection and that only 25% of the chronic carriers will develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer, 10-30 years after the acute infection. The following studies have been performed to demonstrate the safety of the Hepatitis B vaccine in children under the age of 5 years.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In addition to the recommended vaccinations as protections against the above cited risk factors, I have recommended other non-vaccine measures to protect the health of my patient and have enumerated said non-vaccine measures on Exhibit D , attached hereto, “Non-vaccine Measures to Protect Against Risk Factors.”
I am issuing this Physician's Warranty of Vaccine Safety in my professional capacity as the attending physician to (Patient's name) ________________________________.
Regardless of the legal entity under which I normally practice medicine, I am issuing this statement in both my business and individual capacities and hereby waive any statutory, Common Law, Constitutional, UCC, international treaty, and any other legal immunities from liability lawsuits in the instant case. I issue this document of my own free will after consultation with competent legal counsel whose name is _____________________________, an attorney admitted to the Bar in the State of __________________ .
__________________________________ (Name of Attending Physician)
__________________________________ L.S.
(Signature of Attending Physician)
Signed on this _______ day of ______________ A.D.
________
Witness: ___________________________________ Date: ________________________
Notary Public: ______________________________ Date: ________________________
How Vaccines Can Damage The Brain
Vaccines, Depression and Neurodegeneration After Age 50: Another Reason to Avoid the Recommended Vaccines.
By Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. , CCN
It has been estimated that 14.8 million Americans suffer from major depressive disorder and of this number 6 million are elderly. If we include anxiety disorders, which commonly accompany depression, the number jumps to 40 million adults. At a cost of $44 billon dollars a year just for care of the seniors, this impacts the national budget as well. Depression later in life tends to last longer and be more severe than at younger ages. It is also associated with a high rate of suicide.
Previously, it was thought that major depression was secondary to a deficiency in certain neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly the monoamines, which include serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. While alterations in these important mood-related neurotransmitters is found with major depression, growing evidence indicates that the primary culprit is low-grade, chronic brain inflammation. In addition, we now know that inflammatory cytokines can lower serotonin significantly and for long periods by a number of different mechanisms.
Researchers have also discovered that most people with major depressive disease (MDD) have higher levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate in their spinal fluid (CSF) and blood plasma. This is the same glutamate found as a food additive-for example, MSG (monosodium glutamate), hydrolyzed proteins, calcium or sodium casienate, soy protein isolate, vegetable protein concentrate or isolate, etc. Much of the free glutamate in the brain of depressed people comes from within, that is it escapes from special cells within the brain itself (microglia and astrocytes). Free glutamate, that is, existing outside the neurons, is very toxic to brain connections and brain cells themselves -- mainly by a pr! ocess ca lled excitotoxicity.
This connection between high brain glutamate levels and major depression was discovered quite by accident, when researchers observed that the anesthetic drug ketamine could relieve depression for a prolonged period. Ketamine is a powerful blocking drug for a class of glutamate receptors (NMDA receptors).
For quite some time it was known that depression could cause a loss of neurons in the hippocampus of the brain-the area most important for recent memory (declarative memory or working memory), the form of memory most affected in Alzheimer's disease. This shrinkage of the brain usually occurred with long-term depression, yet it was shown, using sophisticated testing, that even without brain shrinkage, memory could be adversely affected. Some antidepressants could not only reverse the memory loss but could reverse the shrinkage as well.
The implication was that the elevated brain glutamate, via excitotoxicity, was destroying brain connections and later killing brain cells in the hippocampus and that the antidepressants were lowering brain glutamate levels. Subsequent studies have confirmed that drugs that block excitotoxicity also reduce depression and that some antidepressants reduce brain glutamate levels.
The Link Between Elevated Brain Glutamate and Inflammation
A tremendous amount of research has now demonstrated the link between chronic low-level brain inflammation, elevated brain glutamate levels and major depression. We know that as we age, the level of inflammatory immune cytokines increase (such as interleukin-1ß (IL-1), IL-6 and TNF-a). That is, the level of inflammation in our body increases, with high levels being seen at the extremes of life -- the 80s and 90s.
This progressive elevation in the body's inflammation increases our risk of a number of inflammation-linked diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, muscle weakness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, memory loss and confusion. People with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease have e! ven high er levels of these inflammatory cytokines -- much higher.
When inflammatory chemicals are elevated in the brain it makes brain cells more vulnerable to a number of toxins, many of which are in the environment. One study demonstrated, using a series of sophisticated techniques, that if brain cells were exposed to low levels of a pesticide there was little toxicity seen and that if you exposed these same brain cells to an immune stimulant alone, little damage occurred. But if you first exposed the brain cells to the immune stimulant, the same low dose of pesticide could destroy a great number of brain cells.
The importance of this observation was that the vaccine made the brain cells hypersensitive to the toxin so that even in concentrations that normally would do not cause harm, could wiped out most of the neurons. One of the strongest connections between an environmental toxin (pesticides) and a neurological disorder is with Parkinson's disease. The reason it is more common in the elderly is that they have the highest levels of inflammatory cytokines. This also explains the high incidence of Alzheimer's disease, which reaches incidences of 50% after age 80.
The link depression was also by accident. Doctors using immune cytokines to treat patients with cancer or hepatitis found that one third of the patients developed major depressive illness within days of the treatment and that it resolved only when the treatment was terminated. Other studies, in which inflammatory cytokine levels were measured in people with major depressive illness, also found most had high levels of these inflammatory chemicals.
To their surprise, they found that many of the antidepressant medications commonly used lowered inflammatory cytokines levels and that patients who failed to respond had the highest level of the cytokines.
So, how is this linked to excitotoxicity? Neuroscientists have known for some time that inflammatory cytokines cause the brain to release higher levels of glutamate -! - the mo re intense the inflammation, the higher the brain glutamate level. The highest levels are found in the prefrontal lobes and limbic system, the areas most related to mood control. MSG also increases brain inflammation.
Vaccination and Brain Inflammation
A great number of studies have shown that when you vaccinate an animal, the body's inflammatory cytokines not only increase dramatically, but so do the brain's inflammatory chemicals. The brain has its own immune system that is intimately connected to the body's immune system. The main immune cell in the brain is called a microglia. Normally, these brain cells are lying throughout the brain in a resting state (called ramified). Once activated, they can move around, traveling between brain cells like amoeba (called amoeboid microglia).
In the resting state, they release chemicals that support the growth and protection of brain cells and their connections (dendrites and synapses). But when activated, they secrete a number of very harmful chemicals, including inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, complement, free radicals, lipid peroxidation products, and two excitotoxins -- glutamate and quinolinic acid.
In essence, these brain immune cells are out to kill invaders, since the body's immune system sent an emergency message that an invasion had occurred. With most infections, this phase of activation last no more than a few days to two weeks, during which time the immune system successfully kills off the invaders. Once that is accomplished, the immune system shuts down to allow things to cool off and the brain to repair what damage was done by its own immune system.
What researchers knew was that during this period of activation, people generally feel bad and that what they experience closely resembles depression -- a condition called "sickness behavior". Most of us have experience this when suffering from a viral illness -- such things as restlessness, irritability, a need to get away from people, trouble sleeping, fatigue! and dif ficulty thinking.
Studies have shown that there are two phases to this "sickness behavior"; one in which we have the flu-like symptoms and a later onset of depression-like symptoms that can last awhile. They have also shown that all of these symptoms are due to high levels of inflammatory cytokines in the brain, which come from activated microglia.
A number of studies have also shown that after age 50, people have exaggerated and prolonged "sickness behavior", much more so than younger people. This is one of the reasons why many elderly hang onto flu symptoms for months after exposure.
There is also another immune phenomenon that plays a major role in vaccine-related brain injury. Researchers discovered that when you vaccinate an animal, the brain microglia immune cells turn on partially (called priming), that is, they are in a state of high readiness. If the immune system is activated again soon after (days, weeks to months), these microglia explode into action secreting levels of their destructive chemicals far higher than normal. This overreaction can be very destructive and make you feel very depressed.
Stimulating the immune system with a vaccine is far different than contracting an infectious illness naturally. Vaccines are made of two components -- the agent you wish to vaccinate against -- for example, the measles virus; and an immune system booster called an immune adjuvant. These adjuvants are composed of such things as aluminum compounds, MSG, lipid compounds and even mercury. Their job is to make the immune system react as intensely as possible and for as long as possible.
Studies have shown that these adjuvants, from a single vaccine, can cause immune overactivation for as long as two years. This means that the brain microglia remain active as well, continuously pouring out destructive chemicals. In fact, one study found that a single injection of an immune activating substance could cause brain immune overactivation for over a year. This is very destructi! ve.
Flu Vaccines and An Expanding Vaccine Schedule for the Elderly
Public health authorities and physician societies are in an all out campaign to have every elderly person vaccinated every year with the flu vaccine as well as a growing number of newer vaccines. When I was practicing neurosurgery, the hospitals had an automatic written order on all older patients' charts mandating a flu vaccine, unless it was countermanded by the physician, which I always did. Now, they are giving the shots in malls, tents and every available site they can muster. And worse still, using lies and scare tactics to frighten the elderly onto getting the shots (such as the bold lie of 36,000 elderly dying of the flu every year).
As you age your immune system, including that special immune system in your brain, releases significantly more inflammatory immune cytokines than when you were younger. This serves to prime the microglia, as discussed. So, when you get your first flu shot your microglia overreact and does so for a very long period -- perhaps years. Many elderly report that the flu shot gave them the flu. Proponents of vaccines, retort with a condescending laugh, that it is impossible because the flu vaccine contains killed flu viruses. In truth, what these people are reporting is a prolonged, intense "sickness behavior" response to the vaccine. To the body, it is worse than getting the flu. Remember, no one is recording the number of elderly who die after getting the flu shot, especially if they die months later, which can happen with sickness behavior, especially if they have a preexisting chronic illness or are infirm.
Here is the shocking truth. With the elderly already having increased inflammatory cytokine levels both systemically and in their brain, stimulating these primed microglia so that a chronic overstimulation of the brain's immune system is triggered, will not only increase their risk of developing one of the neurodegenerative diseases, but will also substantially increase their ris! k of dev eloping major depression. Remember, this also increases their risk of suicide and even homicide dramatically.
Anxiety is a major problem with depression, and vaccinations will greatly worsen the condition. In fact, vaccination, especially multiple vaccinations, will maintain the brain in a state of inflammation that will be self-perpetuating, because the excess release of glutamate in the brain, as well as glutamate in the diet, will further enhance microglial activation and excitotoxicity.
Those who are prone to developing one of the neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease will be at a drastically increased risk as we have seen experimentally when even animals exposed to subtoxic concentrations of environmental toxins and vaccinated develop neurologic worsening.
Most people use pesticides in their home and studies have shown that the concentrations in homes are sufficient to trigger Parkinson's disease in susceptible people. Vaccinations, as these studies have shown, will greatly increase risk. Most doctors are completely unaware of this important research.
You must keep in mind that "health authorities" urge the elderly to get the flu vaccine each and every year. This will keep the microglia in a primed and even activated state continuously. Recently, neurologists announced that the incidence of neurodegenerative disease had been grossly underestimated and that neurological diseases of aging were increasing at a frightening rate. They have no explanation. Over the last three decades the number of elderly receiving yearly flu vaccines has risen from 20% before 1980 to over 60% today.
If this were not depressing enough, now the public health authorities and medical specialty societies are adding a whole new set of vaccines for those above 50 years of age, including the pneumococcal and meningiococcal vaccines. What is being completely ignored by the promoters of these vaccines is the effect of multiple doses of immune adjuvant th! at accom pany each of these vaccines.
Lets, say you see your doctor and he talks you into getting the flu vaccine, the pneumococcal and meningiococcal vaccine all during the same office visit. That way, he can save you extra office visits. What your doctor ignores is that he is giving you three doses of powerful immune adjuvant all in one sitting, which means that your body and brain are assaulted by a massive dose of powerful immune activators, which have been proven to activate the brain's immune system to dangerous levels, even when given as a single dose. Proof of this mechanism exists not only in animal studies, but in humans as well.
Mercury and Aluminum
There are other ways that vaccines can cause havoc in the brain. Most vaccines contain aluminum compounds. A multitude of studies have shown that aluminum, especially if combined with fluoride, is a powerful brain toxin and that it accumulates in the brain. With each vaccine injection, a dose of aluminum is given. These yearly aluminum inoculations accumulate not only at the site of the injection, but travel to the brain, where it enters neurons and glial cells (astrocytes and microglia). A number of studies have shown that aluminum can activate microglia and do so for long periods. This means that the aluminum in your vaccination is priming your microglia to overreact. The next vaccine acts to trigger the enhanced inflammatory reaction and release of the excitotoxins, glutamate and quinolinic acid.
You must also appreciate that any infection, stroke, head injury or other toxin exposure will also magnify this inflammatory brain reaction initially triggered by your vaccines. Studies have now indicated that the more one's immune system is activated the more like he or she will suffer from one of the neurodegenerative diseases.
Mercury is also a powerful activator of brain microglia and can do so in extremely low concentrations-in nanomolar amounts. Because of its numerous reactions with sulfhydral compounds in the body (w! hich are ubiquitous), mercury can poison a number of enzymes both systemically and in the brain. Of special concern is the ability of mercury, especially ethylmercury (the kind found in vaccines called thimerosal) to inhibit the regulation of brain glutamate levels. (It does this by inhibiting the glutamate transfer proteins that control the removal of glutamate from outside the neuron, where it does its harm.)
In essence, mercury, in the concentrations being injected with vaccines, triggers excitotoxicity, increases brain free radicals and lipid peroxidation products, inhibits critical brain enzymes, inhibits antioxidant enzymes and impairs DNA repair ability. The flu vaccine contains enough mercury to do all of these things. You must keep in mind that each flu vaccine adds to the mercury supplied by your last vaccine, that is, it is progressively accumulating in your brain.
In addition, the aluminum in the vaccines also primes microglia and when combined with mercury is infinitively more toxic to the brain. Now, if this is not enough, we also have to consider the contamination of vaccines with foreign viruses and viral components. Studies have shown that this is not a rare occurrence, with up to 60% of vaccines being contaminated in one study of several major manufactured vaccines. When confronted with this fact, vaccine proponents just shrug their shoulders and say -- "We don't think these things are harmful."
Yet, the studies say otherwise. It has been found that insertion of viral fragments, not even the whole virus, is sufficient to trigger the brain's microglial system and subsequent excitotoxicity, leading to progressive brain degeneration. This is accepted to be the mechanism by which the HIV virus causes dementia in a great number of AIDS victims. Fragments of the virus (gp140 and Tat) are engulfed by the microglia and this triggers chronic brain inflammation and excitotoxicity. The herpes virus and measles virus can do the same thing.
Danger of Live Virus Vaccines
! A number of studies have shown that live viruses used in vaccines can enter the brain and reside there for a lifetime. One such study, in which autopsied elderly were examined for the presence of the measles virus, found that 20% of the brains had live measles viruses and 45% of other organs were infected. These viruses were highly mutated, meaning that they could be just as potent as other measles viruses, but could be even more virulent. Worse, is that in most cases they cause a smoldering destruction of tissues without the obvious symptoms of infection, which has been shown in a number of studies.
Live virus vaccines are made using a process to attenuate the pathogenic or disease-causing virus by passing it through a series of cultures. The problem is that the reverse can also happen within the body. A number of studies have shown that when we produce free radicals in our body (and we produce tons of such radicals over a lifetime), it mutates the viruses residing in our tissues. This is what was found in the autopsy study I referred to above.
Likewise, these viruses can trigger brain inflammation and degeneration, which has been shown in a number of studies-that is, there exist a chronic degeneration of the brain over years or decades. Because it is so far separated from the time of the original vaccine, physicians just attribute it to old age or heredity, anything but the vaccines.
Virologists are also concerned that such mutated live viruses can also infect other people, leading to outbreaks of disease totally unsuspected by health authorities.
Conclusion
Current recommendations by the CDC for adult vaccinations include a total of 14 separate inoculations with infectious agents and powerful immune adjuvants. To be fair, some of these are for special medical risks and conditions, such as high-risk behaviors, illegal drug use and HIV infected individuals. If we eliminate these, women will be exposed to 10 inoculations and men 7, should they follow CDC guidelines, which doctors follow.
According to CDC recommendations, multiple vaccinations for a single disease are separated by no more than 4 weeks, which is close enough together to produce priming and subsequent hyperactivation of brain microglia. We have seen that this can trigger a smoldering process of brain inflammation and excitotoxicity that can not only result in depression, anxiety and high suicide rates, but can increase one's risk of developing one of the neurodegenerative diseases as well.
We have also seen that in many cases a person will be injected with several vaccines during a single office visit and that this means their body is exposed to a very large dose of immune adjuvant. Compelling studies, using many animal species as well as humans, have shown that this overactivates brain inflammatory mechanism that can last for years.
In addition, several additives to vaccines, such as mercury and aluminum, are powerful brain toxins that are known to accumulate in the brain over years and can trigger brain inflammatory/excitotoxic mechanisms. Vaccine contaminants, such as bacteria, mycoplasma and viral fragments can also produce prolonged brain inflammation and neurodegeneration.
Because the elderly already have high levels of inflammatory cytokines, they are at a special risk. The very young (babies and small children) are at a high risk because their brains are undergoing the most rapid development at the very time they receive the greatest number of vaccinations -- the first two years of life. In fact, they receive 22 vaccines during the first year of life, one of which contains a full pediatric dose of mercury. Like adults, they receive many inoculations (up to 9 inoculations) in one office visit. This is insane and in my estimation, criminal.
Nasal flu vaccines are even worse, because they introduce a live virus into the nasal passages, which can then travel along the olfactory nerves, which leads to the very part of the brain first and most severely affected by Alzheimer's d! isease. A number of studies have shown that viruses and bacteria can pass along this route to the brain. In fact, in one study scientists sprayed a bacterium into the nose of mice and observed a rapid development of Alzheimer's type plaques in the mouse's brain.
So, what should older people do? First, studies have shown that the primary cause of immune deficiency in the elderly is purely dietary. The carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, canthaxanthin, lutein and lycopene significantly enhance the immunity of the elderly. Zinc, magnesium and selenium are also essential. One should also avoid omega-6 oils (the vegetable oils-corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean and peanut oils), since they greatly enhance inflammation and depress immunity. The EPA component of fish oils (omega-3 oils) is also a powerful immune suppressant. DHA is not. A healthy immune system means that you can fight infections efficiently and rapidly.
Regular exercise, such as brisk walking or weight exercises three to five times a week also boost immunity, while extreme exercise suppresses immunity. Sugar and refined carbohydrates also suppress immunity and inflame the brain. Exercise protects the brain from aging effects and from degeneration.
Adequate sleep is also vital to both brain health and good immune function. Pubic health officials and spokesmen for the major medical societies are lying to the public concerning vaccine safety. We now possess sufficient information from a great number of studies to halt this disastrous vaccine policy. We are facing a medial disaster in this country, which is already well on its way.
1. McGeer PL and McGeer EG. Local neuroinflammation and progression of Alzheimer's disease. J Neurovirology 202; 8: 529-538.
2. Tavares RG, et al. Quinolinic acid stimulates synaptosomal glutamate release and inhibits glutamate uptake into astrocytes. Neurochem Int 2002; 40: 621-627.
3. Eastman CL, et al. Increased brain quinolinic acid production in mice infec! ted with a neurotropic measles virus. Exp Neurol 1994; 125; 119-124.
4. Glass JD and Wesselingh SL. Microglia in HIV-associated neurological diseases. Microsc Res Tech 2001; 54: 95-105.
5. Turowski RC and Troozzi PL. Central Nervous System toxicities of cytokine therapy: In: Plotnikoff NP, et al, Eds. Cytokines, Stress and Immunity. Boca Raton, CRC Pres, 1998, pp 93-114.
6. Mrak RE, et al. Glail cytokines and Alzheimer's disease: Review and pathogenic implications. Human Pathol 1995; 26: 816-823.
7. Klatschmidt C, et al. Stimulation of inotropic glutamate receptors activates transcription factor NFkB in primary neurons. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 1995; 92: 9618-9622.
8. Gao HM, et al Distinct role for microglia in rotenone-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. J Neurosci 2002; 22: 782-790.
9. Dyatlov VA et al. neonatal lead exposure potentates sickness behavior by Listeria monocytogenes infection in mice. Brain Behav Immun 2002; 16: 477-492.
10. Nakai Y, et al. Apoptosis and microglial activation in influenza encephalopathy. Acta Neuropath (Berl) 2003; 105: 233-239.
11. Anderson T et al. NMDA-receptor antagonist prevents measles virus-induced neurodegeneration. Eur J Neurosci 1991; 3: 66-71.
12. Conner TJ, et al. Depression stress immunological activation: the role of cytokines in depressive disorders. Life Sciences 1998; 62: 583-606.
13. Renault PF, et al. Psychiatric complications of long-term ineterferon-alpha therapy. Arch Internal Medicine 1987; 147: 1577-1580.
14. Adams F et al. Neuropsychiatric manifestations of human leukocyte interferon therapy in patients with cancer. JAMA 1984; 252: 938-941.
15. Broderick PA, et al. Interleukin-1a alters hippocampal and norepinephrine release during open field behavior in Sprague-Dawley animals: differences from the Fawn-Hooded animal model of depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biology 2002; 26: 1355-1372.
16. Katayama Y, et al. Detection of measles virus nucleoprotein m! RNA in a utopsied brain tissues. J General Virology 1995; 76: 3201-3204.
17. Nicolson GL et al. High frequency of systemic mycoplasma infections in Gulf War Veterans and civilians with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Clin Sci 2002; 9: 525-529.
18. Blaylock RL. Interaction of cytokines, excitotoxins, and reactive nitrogen and oxygen species in autism spectrum disorders. JANA 2003; 6: 21-35.
19. Blaylock RL. Central role of excitotoxicity in autism. JANA 2003; 6: 7-19.
20. Blaylock RL. Food additive excitotoxins and degenerative brain disorders. Medical Sentinel 1999; 4: 212-215.
21. Blaylock RL. Chronic microglial activation and excitotoxicity secondary to excessive immune stimulation: Possible factors in Gulf War Syndrome and Autism. J Amer Phys Surg 2004; 9: 46-51.
22. Pilc A, et al. Mood disorders: regulation by metabotropic glutamate receptors.
Biochem Pharmacol 2007; (Epub ahead of print)
23. Palucha A, Pilc A. The involvement of glutamate in the pathophysiology of depression. 2005; 18: 262-268.
24. Paul IA, Skolnick P. Glutamate and depression: clinical and preclinical studies. Ann NY Acad Sci 2003; 1003: 250-272.
25. Pittenger C, et al. The NMDA receptor as a therapeutic target in major depressive disorder. CNS Neurol Disorders Drug Targets 2007; 6: 101-115.
26. Magaki S et al. Increased production of inflammatory cytokines in mild cognitive impairment. Exp Gerontol 2007; 42: 233-240.
27. Gao H-M et al. Synergistic dopaminergic neurotoxicity if the pesticide rotenone and inflammogen lipopolysacchride: relevance to the etiology of Parkinson's disease. J Neurosciences 2003; 23: 1228-1236.
28. Holmes C et al. Systemic infection, interleukin 1ß, and cognitive decline. J Neurol Neurosurgery Psychiatry 2003; 74: 788-789.
29. Godbout JP et al. Exaggerated neuroinflammation and sickness behavior in aged mice after activation of the peripheral innate immune system. The FASEB J 2005; 19: 1329-1331.
30. Perry VH e! t al. Th e impact of infection on the progression of neurodegenerative disease. Nature Rev Neuroscience 2003;4: 103-112.
31. Feiring B et al. Persisting responses indicating long-term protection after booster dose with meningococcal group B outer membrane vesicle vaccine. Clin Vaccine Immunology 2006; 13: 790-796.
32. Vaccine Excepients and Media Summery Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (also the source for recommended vaccines for adults and children).
REPOST: Don’t Vaccinate! Measles is Important!
This is a repost from another blog I was reading, I am reposting it because it has valuable information on why it is a really bad idea to vaccinate for the measles.
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/measles.html
http://harshrealities.info/nutrition/?p=1086
Don’t Vaccinate! Measles is Important!
Filed under: Health — ladybex @ 6:03 am
I remember when reading Hallelujah Acre’s endorsed book about Vaccinations: Deception and Tragedy that measles is important in developing a healthy adult immune system. I researched it on the internet today, and found this site that agrees.
Whale
Measles deaths had declined by 99.4% (!) before vaccination, so there isn’t any any evidence vaccination played any part in deaths decline, while parents are spun the lie that vaccination was the only factor in the decline and therefore the only defence, while Allopathy hypes the dangers of measles. Incidentally, over 50% of measles cases have been vaccinated (see).
MMR vaccine is obviously killing more kids now than measles would be doing, with or without the vaccine (see), as FOIA shows in 1990, in the UK, there were approximately 70 deaths associated with triple vaccines (DTP and MMR), the UK Gov’ has paid out for MMR deaths, and one media report mentioned 26 deaths. (see: MMR deaths)
Vaccination is suppressing a beneficial process of the immune system, and leads to measles in younger children where it is more dangerous, while natural therapies and the real causes of measles deaths are ignored. Deaths are caused by toxemia (see), malnutrition (see) & immune deficiency, poor management and drug use (see), while the virus gets the blame (see: The Virus hunters).
So, an ineffective dangerous vaccine causing a huge epidemic of vaccine diseases (see) such as autism,& diabetes, for a beneficial disease that is safe in healthy children under proper medical care, such as Homeopathy Naturopathy & Nutritional medicine——NB: Allopaths (with a pecuniary and professional interest in vaccination), are the only doctors who say you should fear measles. If Allopathy really cared about measles deaths they would have used Vitamin C 50 years ago (see), but that would have spelt the end of vaccination along with most of their other useless, but highly profitable, drugs. Instead they persecute their heretics/whisteblowers such as Dr Wakefield, Lisa Blakemore-Brown & Dr Jane Donegan in a nasty attempt to suppress the truth on MMR and vaccine autism, as well as taking away legal funding for the victims. See: Measles quotes for more.
They will defend MMR to the death of any number of children as vaccination is the only real PR success they have to screen the failure of Corporate monopoly medicine to cure anything apart from bacterial infections, as this ex-vaccine researcher points out: “Vaccines are the last defence of modern medicine. Vaccines are the ultimate justification for the overall “brilliance” of modern medicine.” (Ref)]
Six doctors are quoted on this site as saying that vitamin C cures measles, and that vaccinations are unnecessary to prevent measles.
Under normal conditions, healthy children do not die from or become disabled from the complications of measles and if they do, questions should be asked about their management.” —Jayne Donegan MB
“Measles has been on a major decline since the mid 1850s and this has absolutely nothing to do with any measles or MMR vaccination……A growing number of parents worldwide are choosing not to vaccinate at all, and it is not because they can’t get the single jabs, it is because they don’t see vaccination as playing any kind of role in promoting the health of their children.”—–Magda Taylor, Director of The Informed Parent
“In 1991 over 60% of cases in children were “vaccinated”. ….The measles death decline graph provided shows that the measles vaccine had nothing to do with the decline in deaths, and has not affected the number of children hospitalised during epidemic years since its introduction.
I have myself, through Natural Hygiene, over 16 years, treated all forms and hundreds of cases of typhus and typhoid fevers, pneumonia’s, measles and dysentery’s, and have not lost a single patient. The same is true of scarlet and other fevers. No medicine whatever was given”.–Dr Trall, 1860.
“Many viral infectious diseases have been cured and can continue to be cured by the proper administration of Vitamin C. Yes, the vaccinations for these treatable infectious diseases are completely unnecessary when one has the access to proper treatment with vitamin C. And, yes, all the side effects of vaccinations…are also completely unnecessary since the vaccinations do not have to be given in the first place with the availability of properly dosed vitamin C.”—Dr Thomas Levy M.D., J.D. (Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins p30)
The above site has so much information, I didn’t have time to absorb it all. Read it, and have your eyes opened.
Mary’s Herbs answers the question, “Why Not Vaccinate?”
The long term side effects far outweigh any benefits these shots may have, these include: Autism, dyslexia, seizures, speech impediments, hearing loss, blindness, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and chronic fatigue syndrome to name a few!
The best way to avoid contracting any disease is proper hygiene, adequate rest, and a healthy diet including supplements and Herbs, avoiding sugar artificial ingredients and preservatives. Sugar weakens the immune system, increases the incidences of infection and the body’s ability to protect itself from disease.
Just 100mg of sugar (8oz of soda contains an average of 29 grams [2900mg]) reduces immune function by 50% in one hour.
Building up the body’s natural immunity and taking responsibility for any illness that may invade the body is more beneficial than being injected with foreign proteins and toxic substances. If the immune system is undermined and not allowed to handle disease in its own way, its ability to protect the body throughout life is lessened.
I would be remiss in encouraging you to let your children catch the measles if I didn’t provide a way to treat it. I was amazed at how many healthy natural remedies there are for measles, all revolving around diet and food.
Home Remedies for Measles
The first symptoms that appear for seven to fourteen days after exposure to the virus are feverishness, cold, watering of the eyes, and a dry cough. A rash appears on the skin four days after the onset of these symptoms. This rash, which consists of small rounded spots with reddened skin in between, initially appears on the sides of the face and the neck, and then gradually spreads allover the body, appearing last on the extremities. Initially pink in colour, the spots grow darker as time passes.
Measles is usually accompanied by fever and diarrhoea. In severe cases, high fever and delirium may occur. Complications which can arise from this disease include pneumonia, bronchitis, and abscesses in the ears. One serious but rare complication is inflammation of the brain.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases caused by a virus. This disease is easily transmitted in the early stages through the invisible droplets of moisture, which are discharged from a patient’s nose or mouth when he coughs or sneezes.
The real causes of this disease, like other diseases of childhood, are however; wrong feeding habits and unhygienic living conditions.
Oranges are very valuable in measles, as the digestive power of the body is seriously hampered. The patient suffers from intense toxaemia, and the lack of saliva coats his tongue and often destroys his thirst for water as well as his desire for food. The agreeable flavour of orange juice helps greatly in overcoming these drawbacks. Orange juice is the ideal liquid food for this disease.
The juice of lemon also makes an effective thirst-quenching drink in measles. About 15 to 25 ml of lemon juice, diluted with water, should be take for this purpose.
Turmeric is beneficial in the treatment of measles. Raw roots of turmeric should be dried in the sun and ground to a fine powder. Half a teaspoon of this powder, mixed with a few drops of honey and the juice of a few bitter gourd leaves, should be given to patients suffering from measles.
Powdered liquorice has been found valuable in relieving the cough, which is typical in measles. The child patient should be given half a teaspoon of powdered liquorice mixed with the same quantity of honey.
The use of barley water has proved beneficial for the troublesome cough in measles. This water should be taken frequently, sweetened with the newly-drawn oil of sweet almonds.
The seeds of the egg plant are a stimulant. Intake of half to one gram of these seeds daily for three days will help develop immunity against measles for one year.
As the condition improves, the child can be placed on an all-fruit diet for a few days. Thereafter he may be allowed to gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet.
The child should be kept in a well-ventilated room. As light has a detrimental effect upon the eyes during measles because of the weakened condition of the external eye tissues, the child should have his eyes shaded or the room should have subdued light.
The treatment should aim at bringing down the temperature and eliminating the toxins from the system. This can be achieved by administration of a warm-water enema every morning, application of mud packs on the abdomen twice a day - in the morning and evening, and repeated application of chest packs. Lukewarm water baths can be given every day to ease itching. Addition of extracts of neem leaves to this water will prove beneficial.
Children having measles should not be allowed to mix with others so as to avoid passing on the infection to them. In fact, they should take complete rest. Hygienic conditions, along with the above-mentioned treatment, will lead to a speedy recovery.
Medication should be strictly avoided.
http://www.whale.to/vaccines/measles.html
http://harshrealities.info/nutrition/?p=1086
Don’t Vaccinate! Measles is Important!
Filed under: Health — ladybex @ 6:03 am
I remember when reading Hallelujah Acre’s endorsed book about Vaccinations: Deception and Tragedy that measles is important in developing a healthy adult immune system. I researched it on the internet today, and found this site that agrees.
Whale
Measles deaths had declined by 99.4% (!) before vaccination, so there isn’t any any evidence vaccination played any part in deaths decline, while parents are spun the lie that vaccination was the only factor in the decline and therefore the only defence, while Allopathy hypes the dangers of measles. Incidentally, over 50% of measles cases have been vaccinated (see).
MMR vaccine is obviously killing more kids now than measles would be doing, with or without the vaccine (see), as FOIA shows in 1990, in the UK, there were approximately 70 deaths associated with triple vaccines (DTP and MMR), the UK Gov’ has paid out for MMR deaths, and one media report mentioned 26 deaths. (see: MMR deaths)
Vaccination is suppressing a beneficial process of the immune system, and leads to measles in younger children where it is more dangerous, while natural therapies and the real causes of measles deaths are ignored. Deaths are caused by toxemia (see), malnutrition (see) & immune deficiency, poor management and drug use (see), while the virus gets the blame (see: The Virus hunters).
So, an ineffective dangerous vaccine causing a huge epidemic of vaccine diseases (see) such as autism,& diabetes, for a beneficial disease that is safe in healthy children under proper medical care, such as Homeopathy Naturopathy & Nutritional medicine——NB: Allopaths (with a pecuniary and professional interest in vaccination), are the only doctors who say you should fear measles. If Allopathy really cared about measles deaths they would have used Vitamin C 50 years ago (see), but that would have spelt the end of vaccination along with most of their other useless, but highly profitable, drugs. Instead they persecute their heretics/whisteblowers such as Dr Wakefield, Lisa Blakemore-Brown & Dr Jane Donegan in a nasty attempt to suppress the truth on MMR and vaccine autism, as well as taking away legal funding for the victims. See: Measles quotes for more.
They will defend MMR to the death of any number of children as vaccination is the only real PR success they have to screen the failure of Corporate monopoly medicine to cure anything apart from bacterial infections, as this ex-vaccine researcher points out: “Vaccines are the last defence of modern medicine. Vaccines are the ultimate justification for the overall “brilliance” of modern medicine.” (Ref)]
Six doctors are quoted on this site as saying that vitamin C cures measles, and that vaccinations are unnecessary to prevent measles.
Under normal conditions, healthy children do not die from or become disabled from the complications of measles and if they do, questions should be asked about their management.” —Jayne Donegan MB
“Measles has been on a major decline since the mid 1850s and this has absolutely nothing to do with any measles or MMR vaccination……A growing number of parents worldwide are choosing not to vaccinate at all, and it is not because they can’t get the single jabs, it is because they don’t see vaccination as playing any kind of role in promoting the health of their children.”—–Magda Taylor, Director of The Informed Parent
“In 1991 over 60% of cases in children were “vaccinated”. ….The measles death decline graph provided shows that the measles vaccine had nothing to do with the decline in deaths, and has not affected the number of children hospitalised during epidemic years since its introduction.
I have myself, through Natural Hygiene, over 16 years, treated all forms and hundreds of cases of typhus and typhoid fevers, pneumonia’s, measles and dysentery’s, and have not lost a single patient. The same is true of scarlet and other fevers. No medicine whatever was given”.–Dr Trall, 1860.
“Many viral infectious diseases have been cured and can continue to be cured by the proper administration of Vitamin C. Yes, the vaccinations for these treatable infectious diseases are completely unnecessary when one has the access to proper treatment with vitamin C. And, yes, all the side effects of vaccinations…are also completely unnecessary since the vaccinations do not have to be given in the first place with the availability of properly dosed vitamin C.”—Dr Thomas Levy M.D., J.D. (Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases and Toxins p30)
The above site has so much information, I didn’t have time to absorb it all. Read it, and have your eyes opened.
Mary’s Herbs answers the question, “Why Not Vaccinate?”
The long term side effects far outweigh any benefits these shots may have, these include: Autism, dyslexia, seizures, speech impediments, hearing loss, blindness, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and chronic fatigue syndrome to name a few!
The best way to avoid contracting any disease is proper hygiene, adequate rest, and a healthy diet including supplements and Herbs, avoiding sugar artificial ingredients and preservatives. Sugar weakens the immune system, increases the incidences of infection and the body’s ability to protect itself from disease.
Just 100mg of sugar (8oz of soda contains an average of 29 grams [2900mg]) reduces immune function by 50% in one hour.
Building up the body’s natural immunity and taking responsibility for any illness that may invade the body is more beneficial than being injected with foreign proteins and toxic substances. If the immune system is undermined and not allowed to handle disease in its own way, its ability to protect the body throughout life is lessened.
I would be remiss in encouraging you to let your children catch the measles if I didn’t provide a way to treat it. I was amazed at how many healthy natural remedies there are for measles, all revolving around diet and food.
Home Remedies for Measles
The first symptoms that appear for seven to fourteen days after exposure to the virus are feverishness, cold, watering of the eyes, and a dry cough. A rash appears on the skin four days after the onset of these symptoms. This rash, which consists of small rounded spots with reddened skin in between, initially appears on the sides of the face and the neck, and then gradually spreads allover the body, appearing last on the extremities. Initially pink in colour, the spots grow darker as time passes.
Measles is usually accompanied by fever and diarrhoea. In severe cases, high fever and delirium may occur. Complications which can arise from this disease include pneumonia, bronchitis, and abscesses in the ears. One serious but rare complication is inflammation of the brain.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases caused by a virus. This disease is easily transmitted in the early stages through the invisible droplets of moisture, which are discharged from a patient’s nose or mouth when he coughs or sneezes.
The real causes of this disease, like other diseases of childhood, are however; wrong feeding habits and unhygienic living conditions.
Oranges are very valuable in measles, as the digestive power of the body is seriously hampered. The patient suffers from intense toxaemia, and the lack of saliva coats his tongue and often destroys his thirst for water as well as his desire for food. The agreeable flavour of orange juice helps greatly in overcoming these drawbacks. Orange juice is the ideal liquid food for this disease.
The juice of lemon also makes an effective thirst-quenching drink in measles. About 15 to 25 ml of lemon juice, diluted with water, should be take for this purpose.
Turmeric is beneficial in the treatment of measles. Raw roots of turmeric should be dried in the sun and ground to a fine powder. Half a teaspoon of this powder, mixed with a few drops of honey and the juice of a few bitter gourd leaves, should be given to patients suffering from measles.
Powdered liquorice has been found valuable in relieving the cough, which is typical in measles. The child patient should be given half a teaspoon of powdered liquorice mixed with the same quantity of honey.
The use of barley water has proved beneficial for the troublesome cough in measles. This water should be taken frequently, sweetened with the newly-drawn oil of sweet almonds.
The seeds of the egg plant are a stimulant. Intake of half to one gram of these seeds daily for three days will help develop immunity against measles for one year.
As the condition improves, the child can be placed on an all-fruit diet for a few days. Thereafter he may be allowed to gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet.
The child should be kept in a well-ventilated room. As light has a detrimental effect upon the eyes during measles because of the weakened condition of the external eye tissues, the child should have his eyes shaded or the room should have subdued light.
The treatment should aim at bringing down the temperature and eliminating the toxins from the system. This can be achieved by administration of a warm-water enema every morning, application of mud packs on the abdomen twice a day - in the morning and evening, and repeated application of chest packs. Lukewarm water baths can be given every day to ease itching. Addition of extracts of neem leaves to this water will prove beneficial.
Children having measles should not be allowed to mix with others so as to avoid passing on the infection to them. In fact, they should take complete rest. Hygienic conditions, along with the above-mentioned treatment, will lead to a speedy recovery.
Medication should be strictly avoided.
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