November  12, 2003                    

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Vaccine Ingredients - CDC (pdf)

A05355 - AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring immunization of certain children against hepatitis A - New York State Assembly (February 26, 2003)  

Vaccines: A Hidden Danger? - WXYZ-TV Investigative Team, Detroit NOW - series of articles

Chairman Burton to Hold Hearing on Effectiveness of Today’s Polio Vaccine Safety Protocols - Congressional Committee on Government Reform

Rep. Markey Calls President Bush's Smallpox Vaccine Compensation Proposal "Vague and Limited" - Press Release

Nigerian Experts to Determine Safety of Polio Vaccine - Vanguard via www.allafrica.com - "Nigerian experts are expected to complete today the safety test of a of a polio vaccine which Islamic scholars claim is part of a plot to sterilise African mothers, health officials said yesterday."

Polio: Pharmacist Cautions Against Campaign of Calumny - This Day via www.allafrica.com

Experimental AIDS Vaccine Didn't Stop HIV - AP via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - "An experimental AIDS vaccine tested in Thailand on some 2,500 drug users failed to protect them from becoming infected with HIV, the vaccine's developer said Wednesday...The poor results were widely expected since VaxGen Inc. had said earlier that its vaccine did not work in a larger North American study."- But what if HIV has nothing to do with AIDS, as many believe?

Mystery Illness Causing Major U.S. Casualties in Iraq - The overwhelming majority of soldiers sent home for recovery from the current Persian Gulf War were not injured in combat but probably by a doctor’s needle. Were some “shot to death” by vaccinations?- www.americanfreepress.net

Global Progress Toward Universal Childhood Hepatitis B Vaccination - CDC (September 12, 2003)

U.K. Measles Threat Menaces U.S. - Key to Protection: Keeping U.S. MMR Vaccination Rate High - WebMD

China, France bid for SARS vaccine - The China Daily

Life-saving immunizations planned for a million children in DRC - UNICEF

Sierra Leone launches first nationwide vaccine campaign since war - AFP via Yahoo!

Finland to set up national vaccination register - Helsingan Sanomat - "The new register will allow individuals to easily check on what vaccinations they have received at what time. Currently the information is dispersed at child care clinics, municipal health clinics, and in the records of Finland's defence forces...Such a register would help public health officials monitor the safety and coverage of vaccinations in Finland in real time."

Mercury in Plasma-Derived Products - FDA - re: RhoGAM

Educating Hunter, a Child of Autism - The New York Times - "What can Hunter become? It would be so much easier for Hunter's parents, Cynde Greene and Peter Fellman, if the answer were a little clearer. Hunter's older brother, Nigel, a junior at Medfield High, has become a member of the honor society and plays three sports, but Hunter, their 13-year-old eighth grader, has autism, which is a wild card."

Giant Hairball Found Inside Child's Stomach - KIRO7 TV - "Cherie Trahan went public to warn other parents about a developmental disorder that causes children to munch on their hair.  Her daughter, Alyssa Halcrow, has pervasive developmental disorder (PPD), a mild for of autism. - As if parents of autistic children didn't already have enough to worry about and deal with.

Increasing Infant Mortality Among Very Low Birthweight Infants - CDC (September 12, 2003) - Any chance this could have something to do with increasing infant hepatitis B vaccination?

WHO Warns Countries Losing Battle Against Child Deaths - NEWS @ ASEAN DISEASE SURVEILLANCE (September 18, 2003)

Infectious Disease News - Table of Contents (requires registration)

The CDC braces for possible virulent influenza this winter - Confluence of risk factors increases the risk of a severe influenza season this winter. - Infectious Disease News (requires registration)

Girl, 12, may be sixth child flu victim - www.ananova.com

An Aetna InteliHealth/Harvard Medical School Look At The News -- The Hepatitis A Outbreak/What Is The Doctor's Reaction? - AP via www.intelihealth.com and www.intelihealth.com  - "As much worry as these outbreaks cause for affected communities, it is important to recognize that most hepatitis A is quite mild and harmless."

An Aetna InteliHealth/Harvard Medical School Look At The News -- The Dangers Of Hepatitis A - www.intelihealth.com

At least 300 sick in hepatitis outbreak - AP via CNN

How hepatitis A was spread remains a mystery in Beaver County - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Laboratory launches Hepatitis C database - www.lanl.gov

A drop in total lymphocyte count, hemoglobin noted as HIV progresses - Tracking the decline is an inexpensive way to test for disease onset. - Infectious Disease News (requires registration)

Antibiotic use in animals should be curtailed - Infectious Disease News (requires registration)

Health groups unite to battle resistance - New “Get Smart” campaign promotes awareness for the public and gives doctors tools to say no when patients demand antibiotics. - Infectious Disease News (requires registration)

Pfizer Offering Free Eye Antibiotic - AP via The Herald-Sun - "In a major boost to a U.N. campaign to eradicate an eye infection that causes blindness, Pfizer announced that it will provide an antibiotic free to treat about 90 percent of the 150 million people afflicted."

Ethics of Placebo Use in Pediatric Clinical Trials - The Case of Antihypertensive Drug Studies - journal article

Nurses' workload tied to errors - Denver Post - "Improving the work environment for nurses and limiting their hours would help to better protect patients from health care errors, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine. "

Uninsured Often Get a Break from Docs - Reuters via Yahoo!

Study Finds Differences in 2 Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs - The New York Times - "The first study to compare two powerful cholesterol-lowering drugs head-to-head in coronary artery disease finds one clearly superior. Patients taking the highest available dose of pravastatin, or Pravachol, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, had slowly progressing atherosclerosis over an 18-month period. But the disease was halted in those who took the highest dose of atorvastatin, or Lipitor, the drug made by Pfizer."

Simple tests touted to determine heart risk in women - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Study of Testosterone and Elderly Urged - AP via The Herald-Sun  

Merck Stops Depression Drug Development - AP via The Herald-Sun

Breast-feeding promotes wound healing - Rat study may fuel breast-versus-bottle debate.  - Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November 2003 via Nature

German Company Admits Defect in Infant Food - The New York Times

Germany probes Israel baby food - German prosecutors have begun an investigation into a company that produces a brand of soy-based baby feed destined for the Israeli market. - BBC

FDA Statement on Reported Health Problems With Remedia-Brand Kosher Soy-Based Infant Formula - www.safetyalerts.com

Hospitals Not Using Drugs Fast in Heart Patients - Reuters via Yahoo! - "Doctors are not using the latest heart drugs in nearly two out of three patients rushed to the emergency room, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday...Hospitals also underuse proven lifesaving surgical procedures such as angioplasty, the team at Duke University in North Carolina told a meeting of the American Heart Association (news - web sites)."

O.C. Girl's Revival Proves Doctors Dead Wrong - A girl was declared drowned, but she lived. The mistake was avoidable, experts say. - The Los Angeles Times

Schafer Autism Report

Redflagsdaily.com - www.redflagsweekly.com