December 5, 2003 - A Not-So-Perfect Vaccine: The Diphtheria, Tetanus and Acellular Pertussis vaccine: An Investigation - by RFD columnist F. Edward Yazbak, MD, FAAP in the Online Vaccine Conference at www.redflagsdaily.com

December 2, 2003 - Fast food 'used to wean babies' - Parents are putting junk food such as burgers in the blender to feed to their babies, a BBC Six O'Clock News investigation has found. - BBC

December 2, 2003 - At-risk children 'need flu jabs' - Up to a million children at risk from serious illnesses are being urged to have a flu jab. - BBC - "But they say there is no need for a mass vaccination of children...Around half a dozen children aged between 18 months and 16 are thought to have died from the Fujian strain of influenza this winter...But an inquest has revealed that 12-year-old girl Fern Summers from West Newton in Norfolk, who it was feared had died after contracting the flu strain, actually died after an asthma attack."

Comment:  It's encouraging to see such restraint on the part of public health authorities.

December 3, 2003 - Car fumes linked to child coughs - Young children living near a major road suffer more coughing attacks, research has found. - BBC

The Diabetes Generation - ABC News Healthology Press - "Until recently, type 2 diabetes and heart disease have affected older adults almost exclusively. But the obesity epidemic in America is now putting younger adults at risk for life-threatening diseases that were once rare in those under age 50."

For another perspective on what may be causing this epidemic of diabetes, go to Classen Immunotherapies Inc. Release: More Proof Published That Common Childhood Vaccines Are The Cause Of The Diabetes Epidemic, Data Identifies Children Eligible For Compensation
 

December 3, 2003 - Powerful Antibiotics - Ivanhoe - "Traditional antibiotics like penicillin may now be powerless against new strains of bacteria. Stronger antibiotics have been developed but those too are losing the battle against mutated versions of bacteria. Now, doctors are looking to a new class of drugs to do the trick."

December 2, 2003 - Six children die in Fujian flu outbreak - No plan to immunise 15 million children against 'unexpected' strain of influenza virus, say health chiefs - The Guardian, UK

December 1, 2003 - AIDS Still Deadly in U.S. - Though Many With HIV Live Long, Experts Say It's Too Early to Call It a Chronic Disease - WebMD Health - "You can live a full life span with HIV -- if you're one of the lucky ones...Modern triple-drug treatment can keep AIDS away. Most Americans treated for HIV live at least 16 years from the time of infection. Many do much better. But many do much worse. They get sick and die of AIDS -- even with state-of-the-art treatment...Why?"

December 2, 2003 - Disorder Steals Soldier's Mind, Life - The Dallas Morning News via The Ledger Online - "'I don't blame the Army for this disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease),' said his father, retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Alford, who was in the service 34 years. "I blame them for how they treated my son.'

December 3, 2003 - When science breeds nightmares - Dangerous research -  International Herald Tribune - "The announcement that an American biologist has tried to create more deadly types of pox viruses in order to develop countermeasures against them raises serious concerns about the lack of control over research involving dangerous pathogens...The explosion in this type of research after the terrorist and anthrax attacks of 2001 underscores the importance of developing sound oversight mechanisms to ensure that efforts designed to protect the United States against biological attacks do not themselves create new dangers."

December 2, 2003 - Flu claims seven in Britain, but too few cases to declare an epidemic - AFP via Yahoo! - "An outbreak is not considered to be an epidemic until there are 400 cases per 100,000 people."

December 2, 2003 - Autism study finds no link to vaccines, environment - Boston Herald - "A Boston researcher says the soaring number of children being diagnosed with autism is probably due to a change in the way doctors classify the mysterious brain disorder and is not - as others have suggested - linked to a common childhood vaccine or any environmental factors...But Mark Blaxill, a Cambridge parent who watched in agony as his healthy toddler slowly stopped speaking, retreated into her own world and was diagnosed as autistic before her third birthday, doesn't buy Jick's conclusion...'The data is screaming out that it must be an environmental factor,' Blaxill said."

Comment:  The M.I.N.D. Institute at the University of California, Davis doesn't buy the "improved diagnosis" argument either.

Breaking News Archives - from December 1, 2003 (check here for breaking news you might have missed)