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The incidence of autism in one out of every 149 children in Brick Township NJ reported by the Centers of Disease Control in April set alarm bells ringing.  Compared to the normal expectation of 0.2 to 1  cases per 1000 children, this was indeed cause for concern, the Brick rate being the equivalent of 6.8 per 1000 or seven times as high.  Health authorities were inclined to dismiss this as an aberration. 

Unfortunately for children and their parents Brick is only part of a general increase in the incidence of autism.  One of every 132 elementary pupils in the Granite Bay CA school district has been diagnosed as autistic.  Even worse, one of every 69 three-year-olds in East Surrey, UK has been determined to be autistic.

In a special 16-page report, by Barbara Loe Fisher, Autism and Vaccines: A New Look at an Old Story, the National Vaccine Information Center cited a 513% increase in autism in Maryland school children between 1993 and 1998 compared to a 7% increase in the state's general population.  A survey of the service records of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act found a 300% increase in the number of autistic children served between 1992 and 1997 in the states of AL, AK, AR, CO, DE, IL, IN, IA, KY, ME, MD, MI, Mt, NE, NV, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, VT, and WI.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that interferes with learning and social skills.  Victims may be severely withdrawn from their surroundings.  People with a certain gene are likely to be more susceptible to it, but the gene does not cause autism by itself.  Boys are twice as likely to be affected as girls

The affliction is associated with bowel disorders, schizophrenic-like mental problems, and attention deficit disorder.  It is also variously accompanied by "sensory disturbances such as numbness in the extremities and mouth, aversion to touch, and unusual response to noise; movement disorders like toe walking, hand flapping, clumsiness, choreiform movements; and cognitive impairments in specific domains like short term, verbal and auditory memory and in understanding abstract ideas."

The latter symptoms are the same as those of mercury poisoning, and the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine contains thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative in MMR and other vaccines.  The Cure Autism Now Foundation has published a report: "Autism, a unique type of mercury poisoning."

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control agree that the mercury exposure of babies under 6 months of age exceeds the "safe" limit determined by the Environmental Protection Agency.  Some autistic children have had high levels of mercury in their hair.

Other potentially poisonous or allergenic vaccine components include aluminum (another neurotoxin), formaldehyde, antibiotics, monosodium glutamate and sulfites.  Some vaccines are available without thimerosal but usually only on special request.

Predictably, the mounting evidence of harm from the MMR  vaccine has produced a report showing that it is safe, but the British Department of Health, which funded the study, refused to release the data as requested by US Congressman Dan Burton. *

The study, published in The Lancet, reported an increase in the number of children with autism in North London, but  noted that the increase predated 1998 when the MMR vaccine became routine.  The study failed to explain, however, that older children who were given "catch up" inoculations were included in the study, which would explain the earlier increase.
   
Walter Spitzer, professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, criticized this study as uninterpretable" due to its inferior scientific quality. The Vaccine Reaction Spring/Summer 2000; San Jose Mercury News April 25 2000; Los Angeles Times April 24 2000; Lorraine Fraser in Daily Mail April ? 2000   

The relationship of autism to vaccines was first reported in DPT: A Shot in the Dark by  Harold Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher in 1985, but has only recently begun to receive attention in the medical literature and general media.  Autism and Vaccines is available from NVIC at special order number 1-800-909-shot.  Have credit card handy and please consider making an extra donation to help NVIC distribute this report morewidely in government circles.

*CONGRESSMAN DAN BURTON CRITICIZES CONGRESSMAN
HENRY WAXMAN'S POSITION:
"Mr. Waxman apparently believes that having a dialogue about the possible links between autism and vaccines is dangerous. He suggests that the Committee ignore the near-epidemic rise in autism, and hide the discussion from the public eye so that parents will continue to vaccinate their children without awareness of the growing concern about adverse events. This conversation is already taking place at the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Disease Control, as well as among parents and physicians."

The relationship of autism to vaccines was first reported in DPT: A Shot in the Dark by  Harold Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher in 1985, but has only recently begun to receive attention in the medical literature and general media.  Autism and Vaccines is available from NVIC at special order number 1-800-909-shot.  Have credit card handy and please consider making an extra donation to help NVIC distribute this report morewidely in government circles.

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