Jabbering about jabs
BMJ 2008; 337 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a1517 (Published 03 September 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1517All rapid responses
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As a parent of a severely disabled child, irrespective of cause, you
could reasonably object to the turn of phrase "the autism fluke". I
understood the word "fluke" to mean "unexpected good fortune" and I assume
Edzard Ernst is being flippant. If he is actually saying that something has happened
- which is now generally conceded in the US (where they have a "genetic
epidemic") but not in this country (where we seem to have accidently lost
half-a-million autistic adults) - it might be progress.
In the meantime he and Douglas Kamerow ought to consider that MMR
coverage in the US last year was 92.3% +/- 0.7 nationally [1], and both
gentleman must be talking off the top of their heads: jabbering indeed.
[1] Centers for Disease Control vaccine statistics 2007,
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/stats-surv/nis/data/tables_2007.htm#overall
Competing interests:
Autistic son
Competing interests: No competing interests
Douglas Kamerow reports that measles are back in the US because of
“large numbers of unvaccinated children of the school age” and asks “what
is going on here?” 1. Apart from the well-known autism fluke, the reduced
acceptance of the jab could be related to the growing popularity of
chiropractic in the US. The proportion of the population seeing
chiropractors has doubled in the last two decades 2. Many chiropractors
adhere to the ill-conceived ideas of their founding fathers and advise
their patients against vaccination 3. In the US and elsewhere they call
themselves “doctors” and try to present themselves as primary care
physicians 2. I therefore wonder whether the chiropractic advice against
vaccination is not part of the cause of the reduced acceptance of
immunizations.
E. Ernst
Complementary Medicine
Peninsula Medical School
Universities of Exeter & Plymouth
www.pms.ac.uk/compmed
Reference List
(1) Kamerow D. Jabbering about jabs. BMJ 2008; 337:a1517.
(2) Ernst E. Chiropracitc: A Critical Evaluation. J Pain Sympt Man
2008; 35(5):544-562.
(3) Busse JW, Wilson K, Campbell JB. Attitudes towards vaccination
among chiropractic and naturopathic students. Vaccine 2008;
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18674581.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Perhaps Douglas Kamerow had in mind the doubling of the rate of
autism in N London contemporaneous with the introduction of the
accelerated DPT schedule in 1990? [1]
[1] John Stone, 'A missing confounder',
http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/88/8/666#2773
Competing interests:
Autistic son
Competing interests: No competing interests
Jabbering about jabs - I suggest that Douglas Kamerow and Edzard Emst read medical literature
Dear Editor,
Without disclosing the vaccination status of those who got measles,
and, knowing the documented history of outbreaks and epidemics of measles
in the vaccination era, claiming vaccine victory over measles is just
uninformed empty jabbering.
Ever since any measles vaccines have been introduced and used in mass
proportions, reports of outbreaks and epidemics of measles in even 100%
vaccinated populations started filling pages in medical journals.
Moreover, vaccinated children developed an especially vicious form of
measles, due to altered host immune response due to the deleterious effect
of the vaccines. Rauh and Schmidt (1965) described nine cases which
occurred in 1963 during a measles epidemic in Cincinnati. The authors
followed 386 children who had received three doses of killed measles virus
vaccine in 1961. Of these 386 children, 125 had been exposed to measles
and 54 developed it. They concluded that "It is obvious that three
injections of killed vaccine had not protected a large percetage of
children against measles when exposed within a period of two-and-a-half
years after immunization..."
Fulginiti (1967) described the occurrence of atypical measles in ten
children who had received inactivated (killed) measles virus vaccine five
to six years previously. Further authors not only described more cases of
atypical measles, occurring in vaccinated children, but also outbreaks of
measles in fully vaccinated populations.
Barratta et al.(1970)investigated an outbreak in Florida from
December 1968 to February 1969 and found little difference in the
incidence of measles in vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
Conrad et al. (1971) published in Am J Public Health about the
dynamics of measles in the US in the last four years and conceded that
measles was on the increase and that "eradication, if possible, now seems
far in the future".
Linnemann et al. (1973) demonstrated that measles vaccines were not
provoking a proper immunological response in vaccinated children.
Despite obvious lack of success with measles vaccination, in October
1978, the Secretary of the Department of Health, Joseph A Califano Jnr,
announced "We are launching an effort that seeks to free the United States
from measles by 1 October 1982."
Predictably, this unrealistic plan fell flatly on its face: after
1982 the US was hit repeatedly by major and sustained epidemics of
measles, mostly in fully vaccinated populations. First, the blame was
laid at the "ineffective, formalin-inactivated ('killed') measles vaccine,
administered to hundreds of thousands of children from 1963 to 1967.
However, outbreaks and epidemics of measles continued occurring even when
this first vaccine was replaced with two doses of 'live' measles virus
vaccines and the age of administration was changed. Black et al. (1984)
wrote that antibody titre in re-immunised children may fall after several
months to very low levels and such children may still experience
clinically recognisable measles, although in a much milder form. They
concluded that such childen are immunologically sensitised but not immune.
Measles outbreaks in 100% populations have continued unabated.
Robertson et al. (1992) wrote that in 1985 and 1986, of 152 measles
outbreaks in the US school-age children occurred among persons who had
previously received measles vaccine. Every 2-3 years, there is un upsurge
of measles irrespective of vaccination compliance.
To cap it all: the largely unvaccinated Amish (they claim religious
exemption) had not reported a single case of measles between 1970 and
December 1987, for 18 years (Sutter et al. 1991). It is quite likely that
similar situation would have applied to the outside communities without
any vaccination and that measles vaccination had actually kept measles
alive and kicking. According to Hedrich (1933), there is a variety of
dynamics of measles occurrence, from 2-3 years to up to 18 years as
witnessed by the unvacinated Amish. Measles vaccination started in the
early sixties, at the time when measles was naturally abating and was
heading for the 18 year low. That's why the vaccine seemingly lowered the
incidence; however, this was only coincidental with the natural dynamics.
Polio vaccines have been plagued by vaccine-provoked paralysis right
from the beginning, when the first, Salk, injectable vaccine was tested
(Peterson et al. 1955). Within days, cases of paralysis were popping up
all across the United States, in the recipients of the vaccines and their
contacts. To this day the product information of polio vaccines warns
those who handle the recently vaccinated babies about the possibility of
contracting polio and developing paralysis.
Other vaccine injections are also known to cause paralysis as
documented in many developed and developing countries.
The reason for this is simple: the phenomenon of provocation
paralysis and reversion of inactivated viruses back to the original
virulence when introduced into the vaccine recipients. As early as 1961,
Gerber published that inactivation of polio and simian viruses in polio
vaccine brews is subject to asymptoptic factor which means that within 40
hours of treatment with 1:4000 solution of formaldehyde, the majority of
such viruses are inactivated, but afterwards there is a viable residue
indefinitely. Outbreaks of paralysis in developing countries, but also in
te US, were often explained by this phenomenon of reversion. Abraham et
al. (1993) addressed fecal sheding of virulent revertant polioviruses.
They wrote that fecal shedding of revertant polioviruse was observed in
50% to 100% od subject vaccinated with all three doses of EIPV.
Subsequent administration of OPV does not prevent fecal shedding of
virulent revertants.
The same applies to inactivation of any viruses (including
measles)and detoxification of toxins into toxoids.
Last but not least: well-managed infectious diseases of childhood
prime and mature the immune system and represent developmental milestones.
Having measles not only results in a life-long specific immunity to
measles, but also in a life-long non-specific immunity to degenerative
diseases of bone and cartilage, sebaceous skin diseases, immunoreactive
diseases and certain cancers (Ronne 1985). Having mumps protects against
ovarian cancer (West 1969). This is the area that should be researched and
the results heeded instead of trying the imposible: to eradicate
infectious diseases.
Studying the existing medical literature would be a good start.
References
Rauh LW, and Schmidt R. 1965. Measles immunization with killed virus
vaccine. Am J Dis Child; 109: 232-237.
Fulginiti VA, Eller JJ, Downie AW, and Kempe CH. 1967. Altered
reactivity to measles virus. Atypical measles in children previously
inoculated with killed-virus vaccines. JAMA; 202 (12): 1075-1080.
Scott TF, and Bonanno DE 1967. Reactions to live-measles-virus
vaccine in children previously inoculated with killed-virus vaccine. NEJM;
277 (5): 248-251,
Barratta RO, Ginter MC, Price MA, Walker JW, Skinner RG. et al. 1970.
Measles (Rubeola) in previously immunized children. Pediatrics; 46 (3):
397-402.
Conrad JL, Wallace R, and Witte JJ. 1971. The epidemiologic
rationale for the failure to eradicate measles in the United States. Am J
Publ Health; 61 (11):2304-2310.
Linnemann CC, Hegg ME Rotte TC et al. 1973. Measles MgE response
during re-infection of previously vaccinated children. J Pediatrics; 82:
798-801.
Gustafson TL, Lievens AW, Brunell PA, Moellenberg RG, Christopher BS
et al. 1987. Measles outbreak in a fully immunized secondary-school
population. NEJM; 316 (13): 771-774.
Black EI, Berman LL, Reichelt CA, de Pinheiro P et al. 1984.
Inadequate immunity to measles in children vaccinated at an early
age:effect of revacination. BULL WHO; 62 (92): 315-319.
Robertson SE, Markowitz LE, Dini EF, and Orenstein WA. 1992. A
million dollar measles outbreak: epidemiology, risk factors, and selective
revaccination strategy. Publ Health Reports; 197 (1): 24-31.
Sutter RW, Markowitz LE, Bennetch JM, Morris W, Zell ER and Preblud
WSR. 1991. Measles among the Amish: a comparative study of measles
severity in primary and secondary cases in households. J Infect Dis; 163:
12-16.
Hedrich AW. 1933. Monthly estimates of the child population
"susceptible" to measles, 1900-1931, Baltimore, MD. Am J Hygiene: 613-
635.
Peterson LJ, Benson WW, and Graeber FO. Vaccination-induced
poliomyelitis in Idaho. JAMA; 159 (4): 241-244.
Gerber P, Hottle GA, and Grubbs RE. 1961. Inactivation of
vacuolating virus (SV40) by formaldehyde. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med; 108: 205
-109.
Abraham R, Minbo P, Dunn G, Modlin JF and Ogra PL. 1993. Shedding
of virulent poliovirus revertants during immunization with oral poliovirus
vaccine after prior immunization with inactivated polio vaccine. J Infect
Dis;
168: 1105-1109.
Ronne T. 1985. Measles virus infection without rash in childhood is
related to diseases in adult life. Lancet; 5 Jan: 1-5.
West RO. 1966. Epidemiologic studies of malignancies of the
ovaries. Cancer; 1001-1007.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests