Measles or autism? Not a choice

Public discussion of childhood immunizations has been set of late by their opponents. They contend, extremely vehemently, that the vaccinations can cause autism. The risk of childhood disease, many of these critics say, is a small one compared to the risk of autism.

Now one of the diseases behind those vaccinations has struck close to home, with the L.A. Times reporting Monday that a local child has been hospitalized with measles. Arizona and Wisconsin have reported outbreaks as well.  And the CDC recently urged measles vaccinations for unimmunized travelers to Israel, site of a recent 900-case outbreak.

Measles, if you'll recall, still kills hundreds of thousands of people a year, most of them under 5 and most of them in less-well-immunized -- and not-so-thoroughly-televised -- countries.

So far, however, there's been little public discussion of the repercussions of going unimmunized when the risk of childhood diseases becomes more than hypothetical. Opponents, feel free to weigh in on balancing that risk.

In the meantime, here are other parents of autistic kids, with views different from those commonly heard:

In Joy of Autism: "It is truly frightening how far certain parties are willing to go to prove that vaccines cause autism, which science has proven otherwise."

In Autism Vox: "... even with greater public access to such scientific evidence disputing a vaccine-autism link, the belief that vaccines or something in vaccines can be directly pointed to as a cause of autism has so far proven more than difficult to dispel."

And in Stop. Think. Autism., before she tackled Jenny McCarthy's recent comments on "Larry King Live," the author wrote that: "Parents, and the public, must see the danger in not vaccinating, the harm of placing blame on something that science continues to dismiss..."

-- Tami Dennis

Photo: Immunization before eighth grade in Garden Grove, Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Ginger Taylor]

"So far, however, there's been little public discussion of the repercussions of going unimmunized "

That is because most proponents of the autism/vaccine connection are not proposing that people go unimmunized.

They (and my they i mean we) are propsoing eliminating known neurotoxins and carcinogens from vaccines, adjusting the vaccine schedule to a more reasonable delivery, separating vaccines so children are got getting shots together that have not been safety tested together, and screening children BEFORE vaccinating them to find which children are vulnerable to vaccine injury.

You in the resistant media need to face the facts, the science that is inditing vaccines in the autism epidemic is growing fast. Health and Human Services agreed that vaccines set off Hannah Poling's autism and will be paying her about a million dollars from the vaccine injury compensation fund. CDC's own internal estimates put the rate of children who may have Poling's mitochondrial disorder that made her vulnerable to the vaccine injury at 2% OF THE GENERAL POPULATION, yet they continue to claim that it is 'rare'!

The debate is over. Our highest health authorities have stated that vaccines are a cause of autism.

Do your research.

[Ginger Taylor]

... but you are right, Measles or autism? Not a choice.

Give me measles over autism ANY day.

[Matt]

As you say, it isn't a choice. The measles vaccine doesn't cause autism. People like to try to make the discussion center on "I'd rather my kid had measles than autism." It makes people assume that there is a choice.
.
No, there isn't.
.
The choice is between having a kid who can catch the measles or not. That kid may or may not have autism, but the measles vaccine isn't going to make a difference in that.

[Maurine Meleck]

to those of you who keep repeating the government mantra-the science has shown us there is no connection between vaccines and autism--have missed a good deal of the science.. Stop reading what the CDC says because it controls and mandates the vaccine program and also determines the safety of it. Doesn't that smell to you? Wouldn't you want an independent, unbiased study for the sake of your children.? DEmand an independent study of vaccinated vs unvaccinated kids from your gov't representatives and then let's see what happens. Meanwhile, know that while this study is not done--the numbers of those who will no longer vaccinate grows every day bigger and BIGGER.
Maurine Meleck

[Matt]

Ms. Taylor is trying hard on her own blog and elsewhere to claim that the government has conceded that vaccines cause autism.

One of the actual statements by them is

""DVIC has reviewed the scientific information concerning the allegation that vaccines cause autism and has found no credible evidence to support the claim. Accordingly, in every case under the Vaccine Act, DVIC has maintained the position that vaccines do not cause autism, and has never concluded in any case that autism was caused by vaccination.""

Ms. Taylor is invited to not only do her research, but to accurately portray what that research states.

[Elaine Dow]

The vaccine schedule is crumbling due to a lack of trust in the AAP, CDC, NIH, FDA and state health officials. If children have a diagnosis of autism, no medical labs will be run on them. Why? Because just about every system in their body is damaged. Thimerosal, a mercury based perservative is the main culprit. It was not removed in 2001 like the media states.Too many vaccines on one day, vaccines when the child is sick, high testosterone, which binds to mercury, and live viral vaccines are all causing the rise in austim. Look up symptoms of mercury poisoning and side by side they mirror autism, ADD/HD. Asthma is also a symptom of mercury poisoning. We now have the most unhealthy children, they are all sick. Why won't the doctors run any labs? Because the liver, digestive system, food allergies, amino acids immune system are all out of wack. Then they would have to treat the child and not be able to sell them drugs such as antidepressants, anphetamines, anti-psychotics. A physicain took an oath to do no harm and yet the vaccines have harmed up to one in three children. Our children are not a science experiment! Thirty vaccines up to age 15 months have never been proven to be safe. Flu vaccine and MMR are contraindicated on the insert when a women is pregnant, why are the doctors doing this? Because they can. In lines from Dr. Malcolm in Jurassic Park "Let me tell you about your little science experiment. It didn't take any dissapline to obtain it. You read what others had wrote and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourself, so you don't take any responsiblility for it. AND "your scientist were so preoccupied that they could, they didn't stop and think that they should.! And that is exactly what happened with vaccines.

[Harold blog]

The vaccine schedule is crumbling due to baseless allegations and fear mongering by people with a weak grasp of the science. Among bona fide scientists there is no controversy - that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of people like Ginger Taylor. Thank you LA Times for noting that measles kills.

[Carrie H]

You are a bunch of fools if you think there is no link between autism and vaccines. I have two sons in which my husband and I held them down and got them immunized, within six weeks my son lost all speech and stopped eating food. He is now six and has yet to speak a word, and he still does not eat solid foods. You will never prove that vaccines do not cause autism because they do. I would also take measles over autism any day.

[Gatogorra]

True, in the Third World, measles can be deadly among children suffering comorbid diseases of severe poverty such as malnutrition, unsafe water, lack of any healthcare, etc.. They also die of rotting teeth, ear infections, cuts and scrapes, insect bites-- many things which children in the "first world" don't typically die of unless they're extremely immune compromised... and uninsured.

But measles weren't deadly for my mother's generation. Neither was chicken pox. And why are they giving a vax to newborns for a disease passed by tainted drug needles and unprotected sex without testing the mothers for it?

It's a straw man construct to say that the enviro autism movement seeks to end vaccinations. As Ginger Taylor put it so well, we want safer tot shots given later and farther apart, ones without mercury, aluminum, antifreeze, MSG, formaldehyde and a host of tainted, unintended pathogens and toxins which arise from manufacturing performed in an atmosphere of absolute impunity, thanks to total regulatory capture. We want screening for susceptibility.

This deliberate misreporting and disinformation is greatly responsible for the current neurotoxic disaster and the creation of the "Fourth World"-- the children of the epidemic.

[joe]

They knew that Thimerosal was neither efficacious nor safe in 1948

Dr. Morton of the Department of Bacteriology, University of
Pennsylvania
School of Medicine, Dr. North of the Philadelphia General Hospital,
and Mr.
Engley of Camp Detrick under a grant from the Council of Pharmacy and
Chemistry, American Medical Association have published an article in
the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This was when drugs came in little white boxes, no hype no pay offs
and Dr's, Scientist, senators and Congressman's, journalist had impeccable integrity.

See today's headlines on Merck ! and ghost written research signed off by crooked well known physicians. Seems every month we hear of a drug
that's killing or maiming Americans that was OK ed ! by the FDA. and we are worried about our financial agency's, Senators and Congressman calling
for their dismantling. Where are they in this important issue Oh! I know
most are in the pockets of pharma. you see if it's a campaign contribution
it can't be a bribe, so they think.

Remember the flu shots that were bad, thimerosal did not work then and
that was the easiest bacterial contaminant to kill, it could not even do the
job. And looking at this, we now know why ,as there research was
showing us it was worthless and dangerous

It is clear from this research supported by a grant from the American
Medical Association that Thimerosal is neither efficacious nor safe,
and
should be removed as a preservative in prescription biologics and
pharmaceutical products, as well as from topical over-the-counter
products
such as Butt-Balm that have Thimerosal present in their formulations
as an
active ingredient.

There was an interim plan in the 80's to get rid of thimerosal this came out at Congressman Burtons hearing on thimerosal. Dr. Engley was reported as saying on an KOMU article that "if they had followed through on our 82 report the vaccines would have been freed of thimerosal and all this autism they tell me would not have occurred"

THEY DESTROYED OUR CHILDREN FOR NO BENNIFIT NOT TO MENTION BEING WARNED BY
Dr. Engley and other Scientist with integrity, this is their findings of toxicity

"We found thimerosal is toxic down to a level that is almost unbelievable. Down to 1.10, maybe 100 nanograms...a millionth of a gram and that is about as toxic as you can get," he said." But the FDA, and the CDC did not listen 200 PPB is liquid toxic waste the chidren from the 90's some recieved 32,500 Parts Per Billion at one setting on one day. And you wonder what happened to the kids.

"Dr. Frank Engley is a retired chairman and professor of Microbiology at the University of Missouri. He served on various committees and panels and has consulted for the CDC, NASA, the FDA, and EPA. He did some of the first research on the toxicity of thimerosal.

** It should be noted that this article was published in the January
1948 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
## It should be noted that this article was published in 1950 in the
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

[Kev]

Ginger Taylor said above:

"The debate is over. Our highest health authorities have stated that vaccines are a cause of autism."

Please could Ms Taylor provide a link to a document from any US health authority that backs this up?

[Tanners Dad]

All the hysterical parents are saying is Green our vaccines. Look at the facts:
1983: Autism rate 1 in 10,000
Vaccine schedule 10 shots
2008: Autism rate in boys 1 in 70
Vaccine schedule 36

My sons last words:
"My name is Tanner. My name is Tanner."
After his shots for school...

Show me any other campaign for disinformation as wound up as this one by the medical(vaccine maker) community. Remove the Mercury, Aluminum, formaldehyde, ether, antifreeze. Reevaluate the schedule. What was the death rate from these deadly diseases in 1983 that we had to add 26shots? If there are side effects to the vaccinations all we asking for is support for therapy, respite, and recovery.

"This does not represent anything other than a very special situation," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Who are you going to believe the Boss doing the spin or the Judge that slipped?

The case may not be a first, said Gary Golkiewicz, chief special master for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He oversees the special "vaccine court" which rules on requests for payments from the vaccine injury fund.
"Years ago, actually, I had a case, before we understood or knew the implications of autism, that the vaccine injured the child's brain caused an encephalopathy," he said. And the symptoms that come with that "fall within the broad rubric of autism."
And there are other somewhat similar cases, Golkiewicz says, that were decided before autism and its symptoms were more clearly defined

Reevaluate the schedule.

What was the death rate from these deadly diseases in 1983 that we had to add 26 shots?

If there are side effects to the vaccinations all we asking for is support for therapy, respite, and recovery.

[Susie Q]

"The vaccine schedule is crumbling due to baseless allegations and fear mongering by people with a weak grasp of the science".

Shame on you, Harold blog. Parents who have done their research on the dangers on vaccinations know the science better than 99.9% of pediatricians and CDC employees out there (never mind parents who go about life trusting these people to make decisions for them regarding vaccinations). You want to talk about fear mongering....? Let's talk about the fear mongering of the CDC when they tell people to run out and get their toxic flu shot (thimerosal laden). Let's talk about the nonsense of these doctors advising the Hep B vaccine at birth... There is so much spewed nonsense from our supposed trusted medical professionals that it is impossible to trust one word out of their mouths... and YOU want to blame us for fear mongering? Have your head examined... NOW !

[Wes]

Looking to a blog named "Joy of Autism" for information is about like asking David Duke for his opinion on social issues. Give me a break.

[Fred P.]

For the posts claiming research shows a confirmed scientific link between vaccinations and autism, could you either (1) publically post the link to the research you're claiming exists -- and I mean the scientific article itself -- else (2) please stop claiming there is research. You're arguing simply on "believe me, it exists" merits, which is not scientific. To be scientific, you need to have the actual study accessible by all... and I challenge you to post the actual link to any confirmed scientific link between vaccinations and autism. There is none.

I know you're either angry, because you're looking for a reason why your son or daughter has autism, or you're angry for some other reason and want to take it out our children; but clearly measles is not a better option. Measles kills, in case you forgot. Death. It's not pleasant for those who survive either. There's a reason why public health worked hard to eradicate infectious diseases like this; trouble is we've all forgotten for the most part why.

[Matt]

"It's a straw man construct to say that the enviro autism movement seeks to end vaccinations"

Please, check the "favorite" alternative vaccine schedule that Jenny McCarthy is promoting. It is on the website for the organization she is a board member of, and on the website she sends people to in her TV appearances.

This "Favorite" schedule includes no vaccination for Measles, Mumps or Rubella, amongst others. None. No protection at all.

Given that mortality from Measles alone is about 0.3% in the US, mostly children, and that permanent damage does occur from these disesases (measles, mumps and rubella), one has to ask the question:

Are those people who will die or be maimed by a lack of those vaccines "acceptable losses" for the "Green Your Vaccine" movement?

Keep in mind, Rubella infections in pregnant women is one of the known environmental causes of autism. Are those people "acceptable casualties" in this movement?

So, because they would "allow" a small number of vaccines to be given, they aren't "anti vaccine"?

Perhaps that makes the argument a "straw man" to you. To me, this dangerous alternative schedule is merely a "beard" for them to hide behind.

[Heather McLennand]

So, was this child immunized? You didnt say, and immunizations are NOT 100% effective. Even if you get your child immunized they can still get the measles. So, if given the choice...Measles vaccination...which has been proven to be inneffective OR Autism...a life long dibilitating deases that robs a child of their innocense, self being, condeming them to live inside themselves....

Yah, I would take the measles...and in fact. I did. I was innoculated..got the measles anyways. OH, I also had the chickenpox...survived that too.

[joe]

kev face it ,your soon losing your pharma bucks

[Heather]

For all of those who want "documented" proof.

www.pubmed.com. (this is a on line site that publishes medical journals/research ect)

Do a search - I found over 404 studies using autism and vaccines. You can shake it up and use your own search words though

You will find cases for and cases against. But the truth is there are THOUSANDS of parents out there...whose children changed directly after their vaccinations. THIS is a documented truth. Doccumented through our visits with the pediatrition, comments from family members ect.

I would LOVE the CDC/federal government to do a study of ALL autistic children a survey, how many children with regressive autism...how many regressed after vaccinations. Every parent I know whose child has regressive autism...that is the case.

After you read ALL of them pro vaccine and con vaccine published medical research - let me know if you would still feel good vaccinating your child.

[MikeBTexas]

All decisions in life must be weighted by risks associated with each option for the decision. The difference in the pro-vaccine crowd versus the anti-vaccine crowd is that the pro-vaccine crowd wants to weigh those risks FOR YOU, and the anti-vaccine crowd wants you to weigh those risks FOR YOURSELF. I personally believe each of us have fundamental American right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and therefore are entitled to weigh these risks for OURSELVES. What is the real risk to my child today if I don't get him vaccinated against measles? Don't read the CDC website for an honest assessment, try http://www.vaclib.org/sites/debate/Vaccines.html as this article has good research quotes and notes quite clearly the misinformation put out by the CDC. What are the real risks of causing/contributing to the development of autism if I give my child a vaccine today? Lots of research out there on the subject, but for each pro-vaccination article please note who funded and wrote the research (see http://medheadlines.com/2008/04/16/hired-writers-not-scientists-behind-mercks-vioxx-studies/ ) and also be sure to read critiques of these articles by other researchers who are not being funded. I think an honest person would say we don't know that any particular vaccine that might be given would on the day it was given, in combination with your child's unique makeup, would carry no risk. In fact you can see the agreed upon risks here: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation/table.htm and I would argue that this list is the MINIMUM list of possible risks. So is there a choice? Sure there is. If only you demand and exercise your constitutional right to decide FOR YOURSELF instead of blindly trusting people who on occasion after occasion show they are not primarily interested in your child's welfare.

PS. Fear mongering happens on both side of the argument quite well.

Thanks for using your most important God given tool!

MikeBTexas

[JoAnn]

Hannah's autism was triggered by nine childhood vaccinations

Father: Child's case shifts autism debate

By Jon S. Poling
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/11/08
Autism in the U.S. has reached epidemic levels, at 1 in 150 children. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has recently upgraded autism to "an urgent health threat." The most contentious issue of the autism debate is the link to routine childhood vaccines. My daughter's case, Hannah Poling v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has changed this debate forever. Hannah has pointed us in a new and promising direction —- the mitochondria.

On Nov. 9, 2007, HHS medical experts conceded through the Department of Justice that Hannah's autism was triggered by nine childhood vaccinations administered when she was 19 months of age. This concession was granted without any courtroom proceedings or expert testimony, effectively preventing any public hearing discussing what happened to Hannah and why. Contrary to some reports, the Special Masters, "judges" who preside over the "vaccine court," did not issue a decision.

Four months later, on March 6, with trepidation my wife, Terry, and I stepped forward to announce this news —- providing hope and awareness to other families. The HHS expert documents that led to this concession and accompanying court documents remain sealed, though our family has already permitted release of Hannah's records to those representing the almost 5, 000 other autistic children awaiting their day in vaccine court.

Mitochondria key

To understand Hannah's case, it is important to understand mitochondria, which act like batteries in our cells to produce energy critical for normal function. Because the government's concession hinged on the presence of Hannah's underlying medical condition, mitochondrial dysfunction, some claim the decision is relevant to very few other children with autism. As a neurologist, scientist and father, I disagree.

Emerging evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction may not be rare at all among children with autism. In the only population-based study of its kind, Portuguese researchers confirmed that at least 7.2 percent, and perhaps as many as 20 percent, of autistic children exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction. While we do not yet know a precise U.S. rate, 7.2 percent to 20 percent of children does not qualify as "rare." In fact, mitochondrial dysfunction may be the most common medical condition associated with autism.

Biological markers

Although unlikely, if the Portuguese studies are incorrect and mitochondrial dysfunction were found to be a rarity occurring in less than 1 percent of all autism, it would still impact up to 10,000 children (250,000 worldwide), based on current estimates that 1 million people in the U.S. (25 million worldwide) have autism. If, on the other hand, the research showing that 7.2 percent to 20 percent of children with autism have mitochondrial dysfunction is correct, then the implications are both staggering and urgent.

Autism researchers do not currently understand whether mitochondrial dysfunction causes autism or is simply a secondary biological marker. Autism clearly has many different causes, and should really be separated into multiple autism(s). I propose that we clearly identify and research the subpopulation term of "mitochondrial autism," which is distinguished by its unique biological, but not genetic, markers.

Based on what we know now, it is time to follow the prestigious Institute of Medicine 2004 report regarding autism and vaccines:

"Determining a specific cause (for autism) in the individual is impossible unless the etiology is known and there is a biological marker. Determining causality with population-based methods requires either a well-defined at-risk population or a large effect in the general population."

A paradigm shift

When the IOM report was published, mitochondrial dysfunction defining an autistic subpopulation was not firmly established. Today there is no doubt that mitochondrial dysfunction represents a distinct autism subpopulation biological marker. I urge health officials and the IOM to embrace their own report and pursue this breakthrough in the science of autism. National public health leaders, including those at CDC, must now recognize the paradigm shift caused by this biological marker with regard to their current position of dispelling a vaccine-autism link.

In light of the Hannah Poling concession, science must determine more precisely how large the mitochondrial autism subpopulation is: 1 percent, 7.2 percent, 20 percent?

Based on the 2004 IOM analysis, if the mitochondrial autism subpopulation is found to be relatively uncommon, then all conclusions from prior epidemiological studies refuting an autism-vaccination link must be discarded. New studies then need to be performed exclusively with the mitochondrial subpopulation. If mitochondrial autism turns out to be common, then we could re-analyze the data from prior studies to determine if these studies were powered sufficiently based on a predicted effect size. If not powered appropriately, the conclusion refuting an autism-vaccine link would again have to be rejected. These statistical concepts are basic.

The current vaccine schedule, co-sponsored by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, injures a small but significant minority of children, my daughter unfortunately being one of those victims. Every day, more parents and some pediatricians reject the current vaccine schedule. In an abundance of caution, meaningful reform must be performed urgently to prevent the re-emergence of serious diseases like polio or measles.

Need for research

As a neurologist, I have cared for those afflicted with SSPE (a rare but dreaded neurological complication of measles), paralytic polio and tetanus. If these serious vaccine-preventable diseases again become commonplace, the fault will rest solely on the shoulders of public health leaders and policymakers who have failed to heed the writing on the wall (scribbled by my 9-year old daughter).

The mitochondrial autism scenario that my daughter has so eloquently painted has the CDC and public health experts logically cornered. Denial and fear tactics won't close Pandora's Box. Whether we find that mitochondrial autism is rare or common, there is urgent research left to be done to fully understand the interrelationship of vaccines, autism and mitochondria.

Reform of the vaccine schedule will be an important part of the solution, whether vaccines play a major or minor role in autism. Our public health agencies and programs need a reconstruction plan. Day one of the reconstruction hopefully starts at the Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee's Working Group, to be held at HHS headquarters today in Washington.

> Dr. Jon S. Poling is a practicing neurologist in Athens and clinical assistant professor at the Medical College of Georgia.

[Holly]

When you consider the science you read, consider the source. This is a lot like the tobacco industry's campaign that smoking was not linked to cancer. Millions of research studies funded by the people who promote a product are likely to have conclusions that support that product. And don't fool yourself. This is a BILLION dollar product.

I'm tired of this debate. The sad truth is that we need to look at the vaccine schedule again and make it safe again. Vaccines have never been 100% safe, but the benefits outweighed the costs....until autism. And don't fool yourself about autism either. We spend BILLIONS of dollars to care for people with autism every year. Even if you have no compassion, the financial costs to society don't outweigh the benefit to the pharmaceuitcal industry.

Don't forget to use common sense. Think, people. All of us parents who say that our kids were hurt by vaccines are not making it up. We have nothing to gain...honest. Very few families are eligible to get any compensation from the government due to changes in the law (in recent years), and the pharmaceutical companies are protected completely from lawsuits because of a little clause in the Homeland Security Act. We are speaking up because we don't want other children to suffer the way ours do. We have little to gain (and honestly don't have time for this crap, but if I can give one family hope...it's worth it). Big pharma has Billions of dollars to gain every year (and their marketing/media people are paid to make you and the doctors think that vaccines are not only safe but necessary).

And one more thing...autism is reversible. Biomedical treatments have recovered thousands of kids. As horrible as things are, there is so much HOPE for children with autism. Our kids are sick, many injured by vaccines and or other environmental insults, and when we help their bodies heal, autism fades away. THAT is where we all need to put our resources! Look up TACA or Generation Rescue to get started on healing your child. Both organizations were created by parents who have given their time and energy to help other families.

Holly
Mom of Quinn, age 5, recovering from autism

[Kev and Matt]

Kev- Did you see Dr. Healy's article in US News and World Report?

Here is a link in case you missed it.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/brain-and-behavior/2008/04/10/fighting-the-autism-vaccine-war.html

From Dr. Healy's article:

"A trigger? Families are not alone in searching for a trigger that might explain why autism and autism spectrum disorders have skyrocketed; now they reportedly affect about 1 in 150 kids. No doubt some of the increase is soft, due to broader diagnostic criteria, greater awareness, and—now that the notion of a detached "refrigerator" mom as a cause has blessedly fallen by the wayside—greater openness. But the rise of this disorder, which shows up before age 3, happens to coincide with the increased number and type of vaccine shots in the first few years of life. So as a trigger, vaccines carry a ring of both historical and biological plausibility.

Go back 40 or 50 years. The medical literature is replete with reports of neurological reactions to vaccines, such as mood changes, seizures, brain inflammation, and swelling. Several hundred cases of the paralytic illness Guillain-Barré after the swine flu vaccine were blamed on the government and gave Gerald Ford heartburn—but eventually led to the vaccine court."

Though not a current US Health official she was the former head of the National Institutes of Health. She says vaccines causing autism could be "biologically plausible." Where have we heard that before? Of course that changed when the CDC decided it was better to protect the vaccine scedule then protect indivduals with possible genetic susceptiblity to vaccines and their toxic ingredients.

Even Julie Gerberding agreed vaccines caused autism in Hannah Poling. I saw her tell Sanjay Gupta of CNN it was true. But, in her standard doublespeak she went on to say vaccines don't cause autism. Even she seems confused and unsure.

Oh and Matt (the Matt I assume from AS who thinks it is ok to give children Thimerosal containing flu shots as you proudly boasted your son and wife got one of those this year). Wanted to make sure you didn't miss this part from Dr. Healy's commentary:

"Pediatricians were concerned enough about mercury, which is known to cause neurological damage in developing infant and fetal brains, that they mobilized to have thimerosal removed from childhood vaccines by 2002. Their concern was not autism but the lunacy of injecting mercury into little kids through mandated vaccines that together exceeded mercury safety guidelines designed for adults."

[Ginger Taylor]

Here is Julie Gerberding, head of the CDC explaining how vaccines trigger autism in children with mitochondrial disorders

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2008/03/julie-gerberding-admits-on-cnn-that.html

Here is a link to the concession document, which states:

"In sum, DVIC has concluded that the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating that the vaccinations CHILD received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/the-vaccineautism-court-_b_88558.html

Both of these sources admit that in a child with a mitochondrial disorder, vaccines can trigger autism, and in fact, did in Hannah Poling.

[joe]

Kev and Mat

Please circulate - latest research below. The US vaccines-to-autism case of Hannah Poling is not new or rare.

At an American Academy of Neurology meeting last Sunday it was revealed in a recent research paper "Oxidative Phosphorylation (OXPHOS) Defects in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders " (see abstract below) that 65% of children with Austistic Spectrum Disorders assessed were found to have mitochondrial disorder (MtD) and so were always at risk of autism caused by one or more vaccines.