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News- Page 3
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Health : Parents' fury over MMR jab
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Posted by sylvia on Friday, February 18, 2005 (15:32:21)
Shropshire Star 22/01/2005
By Dave Morris
An angry Shropshire couple are today demanding an explanation from medics after their baby was given an MMR jab which was four months out of date.
James and Emma Quinn-Lock of Shrewsbury spent weeks agonising over whether to have their daughter injected with the triple vaccine. They consulted a number of sources before allowing doctors, at Claremont Bank Surgery, to give 19-month-old Eloise the jab.
But to their dismay the couple, from Telford Estate, received a phone call the very next day from the surgery to say that the vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, had expired last September, and that Eloise would need another injection.
"We feel very upset about what has happened," said Mr Quinn-Lock of Conway Drive.
"With all the concern about the MMR jab we gave a lot of thought as to whether Eloise should have it.
"We made sure we were informed before deciding and researched the subject through books and the internet.
"But now all that seems to have been pointless and we don't know whether she should have another jab or not."
The surgery has refused to comment publicly on the case.
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Health : Epidemic fears
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Posted by sylvia on Sunday, January 23, 2005 (14:53:32)
IC Cheshire 12/01/2005
By Jamie Oliver And Julia Thorley
An outbreak of mumps in Sandbach is alarming health chiefs, who are calling on teenagers to have the MMR jab.
Scores of young people in the town are believed to have contracted the debilitating disease since the out-break in Sandbach School's sixth-form began in November.
Five students at the school's sixth form have been confirmed as having the highly infectious virus, but many more young adults in the wider community have sought medical help for the condition, which can have serious complications.
Both Sandbach School and Sand-bach High School had to cancel their BCG tuberculosis immunisation programmes because of the outbreak.
Healthcare professionals are warning the outbreak could reach epidemic proportions among students.
Young people aged between 16 and 25 are particularly vulnerable to infection.
Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust director of public health Wendy Meredith said: 'When the infection gets into an unprotected student community it will spread, unless we do something to prevent it.'
Sandbach School headteacher Peter Wiles said: 'We were supposed to be doing the BCG immunisation programme but, because of the mumps, it had to be stopped.
'Five pupils have been home because they had mumps. The youngest case we have had was in Year 9.'
A spokesman for all-girls Sandbach High School would not confirm how many there had been infected but said: 'The problem has meant that we have postponed our BCG programme, which is not a particularly happy state of affairs and has left many people concerned.'
One pupil of Sandbach School said worries of the spread of infection had caused fellow students to stay away from the classroom.
A-level student Craig Oliver said: 'I caught the infection a couple of weeks before Christmas and there were a few people I knew who had it.
'But when I got better people were still a bit worried and didn't turn up to lessons because they thought they might catch it.
'There are normally between 15 and 20 people in my English lesson, but I turned up to find just two there.'
Jean-Marc Leemanyan, 21, of Grange Way, Sandbach, has the virus and said: 'My neck is really inflamed and it is really uncomfortable. Unbearable is probably a better word.'
The former Sandbach School pupil added: 'My neck movement is restricted and I haven't had a good night's sleep in days.'
In a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has increased six-fold in the space of a year, professionals from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) are visiting schools in South Cheshire offering vaccination jabs.
Dr Nick Phin, consultant in health protection with the HPA's Cheshire and Merseyside Unit, says children who did not take the double dose of individual vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) in the late 1980s are under the biggest threat.
He said: 'With notifications of mumps continuing to rise, I hope people will seize the opportunity to do something. It is a very unpleasant condition.
'Those who reach the age of 25 and have not had mumps are at a lower risk, but those who are worried should contact their GP.'
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Health : Commonly Prescribed Antibiotic Implicated in Autism
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Posted by sylvia on Thursday, January 20, 2005 (21:18:57)
Arrive Net 05/01/2005
In a study released this week, the antibiotic Augmentin TM has been implicated in the formation of autism. The study strongly suggests the possibility of ammonia poisoning as a result of young children taking Augmentin.
Augmentin has been given to children since the late 1980's for bacterial infections. Composed of amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium, Augmentin has proven a potent antibacterial, especially for ear infections which quickly become resistant to amoxicillin alone.
The manufacture of AugmentinTM involves the fermentation of clavulanic acid. The fermentation process involves large amounts of urea/ammonia. Ingested ammonia can potentially injure the intestines of small children as well as brain and nervous tissue. Even a small residue of urea/ammonia can potentially induce a substantial brain inflammation or abnormality.
The study, published in Medical Hypotheses, (2005 64, 312–315) examines 206 children under the age of 3 diagnosed with autism. These children were found to have a significantly higher number of ear infections than the general pediatric population. These same children received, on average, 12 courses of antibiotics representing a sum total number of 2480. Of the 2480, 893 of these courses were Augmentin with 362 of those given under the age of 1 year.
Dr. Joan Fallon, scientist, autism researcher and author of the study, states that, "Augmentin is one of the most widely prescribed drugs for children. Its introduction into the marketplace for use in the treatment of childhood illnesses corresponds with the significant increase in the incidence of autism.
It is possible that some children, especially those with immaturity, or others at risk for developmental disorders can be injured by taking this drug. It is imperative that further research be undertaken to determine if a subset of children are at risk for neurotoxicity due to the use of clavulanate or clavulanic acid in pharmaceutical preparations - especially Augmentin."
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Health : Officials fear parent revolt over new baby vaccine
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Posted by sylvia on Thursday, January 20, 2005 (21:15:03)
The Guardian 05/01/2005
By James Meikle
Health officials are preparing to add another jab to the national baby immunisation programme which already sees infants given two injections containing six vaccinations by the age of four months.
Government advisers have given their support in principle to a vaccination against bacterial meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia, infections which strike about 550 under-fives in England and Wales each year and may kill between 50 and 100.
But they are seeking assurances that parents would accept another jab for very small babies who already receive a five-in-one injection against a range of infections and one against meningitis C. Further work is also being done to determine the dosage and timing of the injection against pneumococcal infections, although there have already been trials giving infants this vaccine alongside the others at two, three and four months.
The Department of Health is anxious to allay what it regards as unfounded fears that babies might face immunisation overload if another jab were added to routine programmes for which about 550,000 infants are called into GP surgeries each year. Failure to do so could reignite disputes such as those which have blighted attempts for blanket coverage against measles, mumps and rubella through the triple MMR jab.
Latest figures suggest 94% of children under two in the UK are immunised against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib).
Just over 80% nationally have the MMR, usually at 13-15 months, but take-up has been disrupted by rows over the safety of the three-in-one MMR vaccine. In some parts of the country, it is only around 70%, and lower in parts of London, even though the research suggesting a link between the triple jab and autism, first posited by Dr Andrew Wakefield seven years ago, has been discredited. Officials want more than nine in 10 babies to have inoculations to ensure dangerous diseases do not make a comeback.
A thousand parents of newborn babies and 800 health professionals are to be questioned on the information they would need to reassure them about the jab so materials can be prepared in advance of any national programme. The vaccination is now given only to children regarded as at particular risk of infection.
The health department said: "The immune system of a baby has got huge spare capacity and can respond to thousands of bacteria and viruses to prevent them from causing harm. The concept of a vaccine 'overload' has been studied carefully and the science says this does not happen. A baby's immune system could actually tolerate over 1,000 vaccines."
The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation has endorsed the addition of the vaccine against a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae. The committee saw no medical reasons not to offer the vaccination to babies routinely. It is already given to many older people. But the committee "recognised that some parents may have concerns and that health professionals may need additional information and training".
Introducing the jab might mean babies having three separate injections per visit to GP surgeries. The limited evidence available suggested "parents are willing to accept additional injections if they believe that these are of benefit".
Simon Nadel, a researcher at Imperial College London, and a consultant in paediatric intensive care at St Mary's hospital, London, suggested that 20%-25% children who suffered pneumococcal meningitis died. Between a 10th and fifth of those who developed septicaemia from that source might die too.
He understood some caution among government advisers but said it was "very frustrating" seeing children whose disease might have been prevented.
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Health : Is the flu vaccine the next bad drug?
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Posted by sylvia on Sunday, October 10, 2004 (16:14:42)
Boise Weekly 06/10/04
By Dr. Madeline Behrendt, D.C.
Each winter the flu intrudes into our lives. But beyond fever and chills, this villain virus generates media, money and mayhem.
With flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan “The Seven-Step Recipe for Generating Interest in and Demand for Flu Vaccines†creates a massive pro-vaccine media campaign each year. In a single week last September, 1,026 media messages were broadcast or published, including “this could be the worst flu season ever,†“the flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu†and “flu season kills 36,000 per year.â€
But what evidence is there to back up this scare that produces long lines of frightened souls hoping to score dwindling doses of vaccine? Are they effective or even safe? And, when vaccine manufacturers routinely report seasonal revenues upward of $500 million, are there financial incentives for product safety?
The nearly 5,000 flu vaccine-related autism injury cases currently pending in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims suggest negative answers to these questions. According to Barbara Loe Fisher, former consumer member of the FDA Vaccines Advisory Committee (1999 to 2003) and cofounder of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), “Many of the world’s most highly vaccinated children are contracting far fewer infections in childhood but are growing up chronically ill with various kinds of brain and immune system dysfunction.â€
She adds, “Government health officials and the American Academy of Pediatrics put out an Autism Alarm to the public announcing … a stunning 200 to 7,000 percent increase in autism in every state over the past two decades.â€
The government’s vaccine risk assessment database, the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), recently detected a statistical link between vaccines containing the mercury-laced preservative thimerosal, a neurotoxin, and developmental and behavior disorders, including but not limited to autism. But this information was withheld from the public. Fisher started a petition to allow full access to the VSD by independent researchers, and almost 10,000 people signed immediately.
Fisher also links vaccinations to 3 million learning disabled schoolchildren; 4 million with ADHD; 9 million with asthma; 300,000 with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis; and 1 in 400 to 500 with diabetes.
Senior citizens may also be negatively affected by flu shots. According to immogeneticist Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, M.D., individuals who received five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 are ten times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who received zero, one or two shots.
But the number of injuries may be even greater, as doctors can refuse to report adverse effects and face no consequences. And even when a link can be proven, vaccine manufacturers are not liable. Since the flu vaccine was added to the federal vaccine compensation program in 1986, those injured by vaccines now face the federal government, which is defended by the Department of Justice.
Beyond the side effects, the question remains as to whether the flu vaccine is actually effective enough to be worth the risks. Last season 82,000,000 people were vaccinated in the United States, but according to NVIC “only 3 to 14 percent of those who got vaccinated were protected against the flu.†WebMD adds that in a Denver hospital, “people who got vaccinated were just as likely to get flu-like symptoms as those who didn’t get the vaccine.†And Morbidity and Mortality Weekly reports the vaccine had “no or low effectiveness†against flu-like illness.
Like a muscle, immunity must be developed. Infectious agents stimulate an inflammatory response, which signals the production of antibodies. The antibodies then resolve the inflammation, and healing begins to take place. But according to British Medical Journal, when vaccines artificially manipulate immunity, the natural immune response may be compromised.
For example, Haemophilus influenzae type b infection rates are now higher than they were before the vaccine program was introduced. The reason, according to researchers, is that reduced exposure to the disease means antibody levels or “natural†immunity, are no longer being boosted. When the disease begins to rise once again, many victims are less equipped to fight the infection.
Despite these conclusions, vaccine mandates continue to be pushed by state legislators—but parents are pushing back by becoming educated about legal exemptions for school admittance.
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that 93 percent of physicians reported at least one parental vaccine refusal in their practice in the past year. Typically, 80 to 90 percent of Americans don’t get the flu each year. Although flu strains vary the body’s defense is the same: a strong immune system. Those looking to augment immune function through non-vaccine measures may find relief through natural (alternative) health care including homeopathic remedies or chiropractic care.
In recent years, doctors and pharmaceutical companies have encouraged millions of Americans to partake in the magical powers of Fen Phen, hormone replacement therapy, Ephedrine and Vioxx, among others, only to later learn that the miracle drugs are quite dangerous drugs with life-threatening side effects. Beyond the hype, is the flu vaccine the next bad drug?
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