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NEWS ROUNDUP: Janice Hopkins Tanne Number reacting to smallpox vaccination is higher than expected BMJ 2004; 328: 1220-b [Full text]

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what's the cause?

hermin halim   (27 May 2004)

what's the cause? 27 May 2004
hermin halim, pharmacist surabaya, indonesia 60293 Send response to journal: Re: what's the cause?	I just wonder why smallpox vaccine could induce myopericarditis. is it the excipient/vehicle of the vaccine that induces inflammatory response, or is it associated to human body's impaired response to antigens? (I suspect that the exposure of pollutants, chemicals, radiation, and artificial conditions such as greenhouse effects and air conditioner-equipped rooms are responsible in causing immune response impairment during these few decades). Let's consider autoimmune diseases such as SLE, a condition that rarely occurred in 19th century but the prevalence has been increasing since the end of 20th century. another condition is cancer, which exploded in late 1980s (and possibly induced by man-altered environment). In these cases, our immune system gives unexpected and abnormal response to substances in our environment (which supposedly trigger the response), and I wonder whether the same cause also works in this unexpected side effect of smallpox vaccine. Competing interests: None declared