November  18, 2003                    

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Readers comment on Autism in a Needle? (scroll down)

Chickenpox Vaccine Okay for Nursing Mothers - Reuters Health via Medline - "The virus that is used in the chickenpox vaccine doesn't seem to enter a mother's breast milk or pass to feeding infants, new research shows. This means that nursing mothers who are susceptible to chickenpox do not need to wait to get the vaccine...Although chickenpox is often thought of as a childhood illness, adults can get it too and usually it is much more serious than in kids."

Comment:  But doesn't the vaccine make people more likely to get chickenpox as adults?

For other perspectives on the chickenpox vaccine go to: Rise in Shingles Cases Linked To Universal Chickenpox Vaccine Program by Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D. via Online Vaccines Conference at Redflagsdaily.com and Scandals: When is an oops not really an oops?  When you get to solve the problems you cause, and make money doing both!

U.S. Soldier's Death Is Tied To Vaccines - The Washington Post

Smallpox Is Bush's Worst Failure. But He Can Fix the Problem. - D.C. Dispatch via www.theatlanticonline.com - "McGlinchey's article ably details what went wrong: exaggerated fears of the vaccine's side effects; confusing signals from the administration; underfunding; failure to address liability concerns; lack of compensation for health workers made ill by the vaccine or, as a safety precaution, sidelined for up to two weeks after inoculation; above all, the failure from President Bush on down to explain clearly why these vaccinations are important."

Comment:  Were fears of the vaccine's side effects exaggerated, or has a failure to recognize the vaccine's side effects allowed a perception that they were exaggerated?

Flu Vaccine Faces Unexpected Strain - The New York Times - "he influenza vaccine now being given was not developed to protect against a strain of the virus that has surfaced in this country this fall, but the government is optimistic that this year's vaccine will stave off outbreaks, a top federal health official said yesterday."

Vaccine different than flu strain - AP via Knox News

Sweeping flu strain not targeted by annual shot - The Globe and Mail

Early flu outbreaks have CDC worried - Abilene Reporter News - "But doctors are worried this year’s flu season could be brutal. Not only were the outbreaks early in Texas and Colorado, they involved a strain of influenza not targeted by the vaccine...Gerberding said the vaccine should still protect most people, because the strains are very similar. The changing flu strain is called a 'drift.'...'In the past, this has happened. It’s a very common thing,' she said. 'Whatever the drift is, the vaccine will still provide some cross-protection, so we’re optimistic that will be the case this year, but of course we’ll be watching it very carefully.'"

Early flu outbreaks have CDC worried - AP via Abilene Reporter-News

Nigerian vaccine tests refute contamination claim - The New Scientist

Smallpox selected for genetic mutation that today confers resistance to HIV - UC Berkeley News

U.S. Starts Trial of Ebola Vaccine - Reuters via ABC News

Poliomyelitis: Childhood Killer Disease On the Prowl Again - This Day via www.allafrica.com

Polio: North Won't Succumb to EU/WHO's Pressure, Says Shekarau - This Day via www.allafrica.com

Medical Laboratory Tests Find Polio Vaccines Safe - IRIN via www.allafrica.com

Salk Institute gets a $30 million boost - North Country Times

Anonymous donor gives $30 million to San Diego's Salk Institute - AP via www.signonsandiego.com

Merck Launches Network to Improve Immunization Programs in Africa - www.vaccinealliance.org

Gates Foundation Gives $10 Million to UN Fight Against Deadly Maternal Tetanus - UN News Centre via Global Health Council

Hepatitis B DNA vaccine induces protective antibody responses in human non-responders to conventional vaccination. - journal article
 

Veterinary Topics: Consequence of an injection - Serum hepatitis is a possible sequel to the administration of tetanus antitoxin - Thoroughbred Times Today

US scientists warn CIA on new generation of biological weapons - AFP via Yahoo! - "These new tools of war were likely to include binary biological agents made up of two components that are relatively harmless separately but that become deadly when combined, according to the CIA account."

Comment:  And what of potential problem re: combination and multiply administered vaccines, as demonstrated in the 1986 Science article, Two avirulent herpes simplex viruses generate lethal recombinants in vivo?  And why has there not been recognition and study of this potentially disastrous problem with vaccines?

The Autism Summit Conference: Developing a National Agenda (pdf) - NIH - November 19-20, 2003 - AGENDA

Treating the Biology of Autism: an approach to interventions for spectrum disorders (pdf) - presented by the Autism Society of America, Oakland County Chapter - conference alert - April 3-4, 2004 - Pontiac, Michigan

Instant Screening of Newborns Urged - AP via The Washington Post

Court's decision brings attention to shaken-baby syndrome - North County Times (December 24, 2001)

Original source of hepatitis A carrier tough to pin down - AP via www.accessnorthga.com

Produce Items Are Vulnerable to Biological Contamination - The New York Times

Flu season is off to a nasty start - The Washington Post via The Seattle Times

Ky. Sees Drop in West Nile Virus Cases - AP via The Herald-Sun

WHO denies it missed chances to contain SARS - Toronoto Star

EAC launched new foundation to fight pneumonia - www.africast.com

Your Doctor's Drug Problem - Editorial, The New York Times - "The rising costs of pre scription drugs are driving the current debate about Medicare reform. Yet Republicans and Democrats alike may be unaware of a primary reason for this inflation: doctors are taught about drugs by agents of the pharmaceutical industry, which works hard to persuade them to select the newest and most expensive medications — even in the absence of scientific evidence that they are any better than older, less costly ones."

Large Breast Cancer Tumors Rise in '90s - Study Finds Unexpected Increase of Large Tumors in Women With Breast Cancer During '90s - AP via ABC News via Redflagsdaily.com - "Was Hormone Replacement Therapy A Factor?"

Ontario orders investigation into unsterile hospital equipment - Globe and Mail

Not all instruments sterilized, MD says - Medicine's highest level of disinfection primarily used for surgical devices - Globe and Mail

Study finds increase in medication errors at U.S. hospitals - Hospitals continue to make a large number of medication errors despite efforts to cut down on those mistakes, according to a study of several hundred hospitals. - Wall Street Journal (subscription required)

USP releases fourth annual report on medication errors in U.S. hospitals - More than one-third of hospital medication errors that reach the patient involve seniors - www.eurekalert.org

Univ. of Ill. Settles Transplant Claims - Univ. of Ill. at Chicago Pays More Than $2.3 Million to Settle Live Transplant Fraud Claims - AP via ABC News

The Eyes and Mental Illness - Psychology Today - "According to a popular, if cliched, adage, the eyes are the window to the soul. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago believe the eyes may also help diagnose mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and autism." (September/October)

Special Report: Part Five Of “The History Of Herbal Medicine In North America”  - Redflagsdaily.com

Schafer Autism Report

Redflagsdaily.com - www.redflagsweekly.com