*For most of the Wakefield "conflict of interest" articles posted on the site, click here (check periodically for updates)

►February 28, 2004 - Fiona Phillips: Why Jabs Are Needling Me - www.mirror.co.uk - "MUM used to regale me with tales of how I nearly died when I was five. I had measles very badly and it damaged my eyesight...When I had mumps I screamed the house down because my throat hurt so much. Back then, in the 60s, having both illnesses was almost considered a rite of passage. My immune system did its best with both of them and consequently I have lifelong immunity to both diseases...I passed that resistance on to my children in the first and most vulnerable year of their lives. If I had been vaccinated against measles, sure my eyesight would be a lot better, but I believe my children might not have inherited a natural resistance and could have died before the age of one."

Comment:  Excellent opinion piece.  For more on the problem of immunity re: vaccines compared to measles, go to Scandals: What Is Wrong With This Picture?, Scandals: When is an oops not really an oops?  When you get to solve the problems you cause, and make money doing both!, Scandals: Playing With Fire - It's Not EASY To Fool Mother Nature, and Scandals: Don't Worry, Be Happy.

►February 27, 2004 - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (update) - Questions and Answers on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - CBER via  FDA

►February 27, 2004 - Survey Finds Confusion on Medicare Drug Law (requires registration or subscription) - Kaiser poll reveals that few seniors understand the new prescription benefits plan. Education efforts are in the works. - Los Angeles Times

►February 23, 2004 - UCSF doctors see epidemic of fatal medical mistakes - Authors say hospital system changes can prevent errors that kill thousands - San Francisco Chronicle

►February 22, 2004 - A Year Later, Efforts Are on to Avoid Another Botched Transplant (requires registration or subscription) - AP via The New York Times

►February 25, 2004 - Hopkins group had pattern of errors - Drug mix-ups, unqualified staff led to broader probe; Child died after home care lapse - The Baltimore Sun

►February 26, 2004 - House approves patients' rights bill - 'Taylor's law' allows testimony before disciplinary board - The Boston Globe

►February 25, 2004 - County Officials Want Help With Hospital Laws (requires registration or subscription) - L.A. County and O.C. supervisors ask the governor for legal waivers and repair funds if facilities lag in nursing ratios and safety. - Los Angeles Times

►February 23, 2004 - Johns Hopkins Settles in Toddler's Death (requires registration or subscription) - AP via The New York Times

►February 24, 2004 - FDA's new status quo - The Boston Globe

►February 24, 2004 - Heard the latest on HRT? (requires registration or subscription) - BioMedNet

►February 23, 2004 - UK reviews approach to GM (requires registration or subscription) - BioMedNet

►February 23, 2004 - Probiotics - dead or alive (requires registration or subscription) - BioMedNet 

►February 20, 2004 - Breast knows best (requires registration or subscription) - BioMedNet

►March 5, 2004 - The development of antimicrobials and vaccines against bacterial bioterrorism agents – where are we? (requires registration or subscription) - Over the next five years, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to discover and develop or improve treatment and prevention modalities for agents of bioterrorism. The NIH has recently funded eight centers designated as 'Research Centers of Excellence.' These centers have been awarded $350 000 000 to develop new antibiotics and vaccines to protect the US population from agents of bioterrorism, as well as novel means to detect them. Several other programs are currently under consideration and/or development at the NIH to further expand our scientific armamentarium against these agents. Similar funds are being spent to upgrade the sadly neglected public health infrastructure. The salient question is: will this strategy prove successful in protecting the US from future bioterrorism attacks? - Drug Discovery Today via BioMedNet Magazine

►February 25, 2004 - A new cancer drug in the pipeline? (requires registration or subscription) - (Commentary) - BioMedNet

►February 27, 2004 - Bill could save lives of deer - If killed, six would be tested for chronic wasting disease - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via www.jsonline.com

►February 28, 2004 - Va. worker may have caught avian flu - Fell ill as it swept the Shenandoah Valley's poultry farms in 2002 - Richmond Times-Dispatch

►February 28, 2004 - Raccoon tests positive for rabies - Venice Gondolier Sun

►February 28, 2004 - Concern growing over youth doing their own piercings, tattoos - AP via The Times and Democrat

►February 28, 2004 - Hepatitis A warning issued for customers of New Hampshire Taco Bell - AP via Capital News 9

►February 28, 2004 - Oregon Hispanics susceptible to tapeworm infection - AP via www.katu.com

►February 28, 2004 - Asia Faces Huge Cost in Bird Flu Fight - Reuters via Yahoo!

►February 27, 2004 - Racing ban looms as equine flu resurfaces - Saturday Weekend Argus via www.iol.co.za

►February 21, 2004 - Bird Flu Politics Hits Poor Hardest - The Nation/ANN via http://e.sinchew-i.com

►February 28, 2004 - Weighing in when junior tips the scales - Children today are not just getting fatter, they're getting fatter faster than previous generations. As Alanna Mitchell reports, there are ways a parent can deal successfully with this troubling trend - The Globe and Mail

►February 23, 2004 - Autistic Children Featured In Mind Institute Campaign - Mind Institute: We Want Scenarios To Be Authentic - www.thekcrachannel.com

►January/February 2004 - Autism: What's Sex Got to do With It - Psychology Today

►February 27, 2004 - Water Warning Vexes Parents - Fear and Anger Expressed Over D.C.'s Lead Problem (requires registration) - The Washington Post

►February 27, 2004 - Couple take US Health Department to court over buying drugs abroad - Medical News Today

►February 26, 2004 - Bill banning mercury dental fillings fails - Executive director of the Alabama Dental Association calls legislation 'inappropriate' (requires registration) - Mobile Register via www.al.com

►February 27, 2004 - Scientists suspect health threat from GM maize - The Guardian, UK

►February 2004 - Gouging the Poor - editorial - The Progressive via www.truthout.org

►March 1, 2004 - Autism as early expression of catatonia - journal article (Medical Science Monitor) (abstract) 

►February 28, 2004 - Fewer cases of meningitis reported - Fewer cases of meningococcal disease have been reported so far this year but health authorities still warn against complacency. - www.stuff.co.nz

►February 27, 2004 - Scientists doubt animal research - Many animal experiments may be of little benefit to treating human disease, according to experts.  - BBC

►February 27, 2004 - Polio vaccine: Our boycott is lesser evil, says Gov Shekarau - Vanguard via www.vanguardngr.com - "AS the United Nations wound up the first round of its drive to protect 63 million African children from polio yesterday, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State said the decision of the state to boycott the immunisation was a 'lesser evil.'...Kano, Bauchi, Zamfara and Niger boycotted the drive, but Niger and Bauchi yesterday dropped their opposition and said they were re-joining the campaign. Governor Shekarau in an interview in Kano said of the boycott: 'It is a lesser of two evils, to sacrifice two, three, four, five even 10 children (to polio) than allow hundreds or thousands or possibly millions of girl-children likely to be rendered infertile.'...Tests carried out on the vaccines by scientists in the state last year, he said, 'found traces of hormones. We want explanations.'”

►February 27, 2004 - New cancer drug gives researchers and patients hope - www.wkrn.com

►February 27, 2004 - New study clarifies effectiveness of chicken pox vaccine - Capital News 9

►February 27, 2004 - The mercury in your mouth - Amalgam fillings may be making you sick, but many dentists don't care. And once you're sick, it's hard to find a doctor to make you better - www.portlandphoenix.com

►February 27, 2004 - Royal Plea over Third World Vaccines Campaign - PA News via The Scotsman - "Queen Rania of Jordan made an impassioned plea today for help to save the lives of one million children in the poorest parts of the world...The glamorous royal urged donors to contribute to the work of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and the Vaccine Fund...Queen Rania, a mother of three, told guests at the luncheon she had asked her children about vaccinations...Her daughter had said jabs hurt, but then you get to wear a plaster...'To a child, wearing a Band Aid is enough to make it all worthwhile.'"

Comment:  It's easy to be so pro-vaccine when you are blissfully unaware of the 100,000+  vaccine-associated reactions, probably representing well over a million, which have been reported in the United States alone.  But is ignorance really bliss?  And can what you don't know still hurt you?

►February 27, 2004 - Smallpox: Child Killer - The Korea Times - "Maximillian Taubles came to Seoul in early February 1886 over the muddy path that served as the road from Chemulpo to Seoul...The first impressions of Korea must have shocked him. Just outside of Seoul he was surprised to see groups of corpses, most of them children, unburied and exposed to the elements. Feral dogs roamed among them eating parts of the partially frozen bodies."

►February 27, 2004 - Surmounting baseless rumours, many Nigerian states resume polio immunization - UN

►February 27, 2004 - Alliance Sets Goal to Increase Child Vaccinations - Reuters - "An international alliance launched a campaign on Friday to save the lives of one million children by 2006 by increasing access to immunizations in the world's poorest countries...The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and The Vaccine Fund, its financial arm, hope to raise $400 million annually from governments and private sources to immunize 30 million children against diseases such as polio, hepatitis and yellow fever...'Our goal is to allow every child, everywhere in the world access to immunizations,' Jacques-Francois Martin, the president of The Vaccine Fund, said at the London launch of the campaign."

►February 27, 2004 - Parents refused aid to fight MMR - Parents who claim their children were damaged by the MMR jab have lost their latest bid for legal aid to sue the manufacturers of the vaccine. - BBC - "Officials said that since there was no scientific proof that the children had been damaged by the vaccine, there was little chance it would succeed...The children involved in this case have a range of disabilities, including autism, bowel problems, epilepsy and other learning difficulties...Some parents are now considering taking their legal campaign to the Court of Appeal."

►February 27, 2004 - Funding Blow for MMR Battle Parents - PA News via The Scotsman

►February 28, 2004 - Vaccine parents vow to fight on - The Scotsman

►February 27, 2004 - MMR Campaigners Vow to Continue Compensation Fight - PA News via The Scotsman - "'Since this litigation will no longer be funded, and there is no sign that the Government or pharmaceutical companies are taking up the very serious questions that research in the litigation has posed, we as a law firm representing many grievously injured children will now have to consider whether we press the Government to properly investigate matters the drug companies have attempted to sweep under the carpet.'”

►February 27, 2004 - Autism education case in court - The Record-Courier - "Saying there are 'kids that need serious help and never get it,' a Genoa couple is asking the Douglas County School District to implement a program that treats the needs of autistic children...Ranée and Sheldon Gaines expect a response March 8 from an independent hearing officer with the Nevada Department of Education. They will find out if they will be reimbursed $8,500 for autism treatment they paid for their 3-year-old twin sons, Jeremiah and Nehemiah."

►February 27, 2004 - Demand for research grows as autism cases soar - New York Times via Kalamazoo Gazette via www.mlive.com - "But what lies behind the increase in cases is sharply debated. To some, the upswing has all the hallmarks of an epidemic and indicates that autism itself is increasing rapidly...To others, the rise can in large part be explained by increased public awareness of autism in recent years, changes in the way the disorder is diagnosed and the incentive of tapping into federally mandated services for autistic children...Neither side can prove its argument, because the types of studies that could tease out a true increase have not been done."

►February 27, 2004 - Hepatitis Drug-Maker Complaints Reviewed - Federal Health Officials Review Complaints That Hepatitis Drug-Maker Chiron Blocks Research - AP via ABC News

►February 27, 2004 - Commission urged to take aim at mercury - www.edie.net

►February 27, 2004 - 'Probiotic' Baby Formula Deemed Safe in Study - Reuters via Yahoo!

►February 27, 2004 - Asia Likely To Emerge As Global Hub For Vaccines - Financial Express

►February 26, 2004 - Experts say bird flu virus may be eliminated in a year, vaccine available soon - www.channelnewsasia.com

►February 26, 2004 - Just 5 docs to care for 623,000 patients at night - Evening Times - "JUST five doctors will be on duty for overnight home visits to cover more than 623,000 people in Lanarkshire under a new GP contract, it was revealed today."

►February 26, 2004 - Official Defends Polio Vaccine Boycott - AP via The Herald-Sun 

►February 26, 2004 - Bar Codes Favored to Cut Hospitals' Drug Errors - Health Chief Maps Rules To Encourage Their Use (requires registration) - Washington Post 

►February 25, 2004 - Senate set to allow exemption from school shots - AP via Charleston Daily Mail

►February 25, 2004 - Youngsters, Fetuses Are Most Vulnerable - Studies Find IQ, Socialization Problems (requires registration) - Washington Post 

►February 25, 2004 - Dana-Farber scientists discover natural blocker of HIV-1 virus - Could lead to new strategies for preventing infection that causes AIDS - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 25, 2004 - High blood pressure in the lungs a major risk for death in adults with sickle cell disease - NIH/National Institutes of Health via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 25, 2004 - UCL study questions basis for treatment of diseases including cancer and arthritis - University College London via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 25, 2004 - Capturing cell protein production in action could help fight antibiotic resistance - Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 25, 2004 - Childhood Weight Changes Predict Sugar Problem - Reuters via Yahoo!

►February 25, 2004 - Small Babies Can Speed Up Diabetes Risk - HealthDay via Yahoo!

►February 25, 2004 - Kids Who Bulk Up Run Higher Diabetes Risk - AP via Yahoo!

►February 25, 2004 - FDA requires scanners in hospitals - USA Today

►February 25, 2004 - Seeking a mechanical solution to nation's number-one children's illness - Biomedical engineers at Lehigh University and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh probe causes of eustachian tube dysfunction in hopes of finding new treatments for ear infections -  Lehigh University via www.eurekalert.org

►February 24, 2004 - Scientists raise caution about effects of HRT on hearing - University of Rochester Medical Center via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 24, 2004 - When Your Doctor Goes to the Beach, You May Get Burned (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times 

►February 24, 2004 - Mich. Hospital Trying to Eliminate Errors - AP via The Herald-Sun 

►February 24, 2004 - Chemical PBDE Showing Up in Breast Milk - AP via The Herald-Sun

►February 24, 2004 - Low Carb Lowdown: Sorting out the truth and judging the tastes of products born of the latest diet craze - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

►February 24, 2004 - Frist says Democrats threaten class action bill - Reuters via Forbes 

►February 24, 2004 - U.N. disease early warning system proves its worth - Reuters via www.signonsandiego.com 

►February 24, 2004 - Aspirin triggers bad reactions in some asthma patients - The Boston Globe 

►February 24, 2004 - MRI Study Sheds New Light on Attention - UC Davis Health System via Newswise 

►February 24, 2004 - New Health Dangers of Genetically Modified Food (and Vaccines)Discovered - Institute for Responsible Technology via Common Dreams  

►February 23, 2004 - New Data Refute Link Between Medical Malpractice Lawsuits and OB/GYN Insurance Premium Hikes - www.commondreams.org 

►February 23, 2004 - Flu vaccine makers look beyond the chicken egg - Scientific American

►February 23, 2004 - Australian troops anthrax shot problems - New Zealand Herald - "It said the vaccination programme was secretly suspended for two months after 75 per cent of the 1500 Afghan deployment in 2002, including elite special forces, fell ill." 

►February 23, 2004 - Defence's anthrax headache continues - TV Program Transcript The 7.30 Report Australian Broadcasting Corporation 

►February 23, 2004 - Mayo Clinic discover important clue to new treatments for lymphoma, breast and colon cancers - Mayo Clinic researchers discover that key cancer gene cbp doesn't work alone; Important clue to targeting new treatments for lymphoma, breast and colon cancers - Mayo Clinic via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - Fiber intake from fruits and cereals may reduce risk of coronary heart disease - JAMA and Archives Journals Website via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - Postmenopausal hormone therapy associated with increased risk for developing asthma - JAMA and Archives Journals Website via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - New discovery may lead to therapy for incurable blood cancer - Cell Press via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - Protein abundant in human tumors confers resistance to anticancer drugs - Cell Press via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - UNC study may improve gene therapy safety - University of North Carolina School of Medicine via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 23, 2004 - Egg Beaters - Flu vaccine makers look beyond the chicken egg - Scientific American 

►February 23, 2004 - Television ads aimed at kids must change, psychologists say - USA Today

►February 23, 2004 - University Program Helps Autistic Students - AP via www.pressrepublican.com 

►February 22, 2004 - FDA, States at Odds Over Drugs -  Minnesota Web Site Points Way to Canadian Pharmacies (requires registration) - Washington Post  

►February 20, 2004 - Questions Linger Over Pentagon’s Use of Multiple, Simultaneous Vaccinations - Nuclear Threat Initiative 

►February 20, 2004 - U.S. Smallpox Vaccination Program Hindered by Overburdened Health System, Study Finds - Nuclear Threat Initiative 

►February 20, 2004 - Low-level magnetic fields concern - Exposure to low-level magnetic fields could be harmful, say US scientists. - BBC News 

►February 20, 2004 - New system helps predict disease spread, aids control efforts - www.vidyya.com

►February 20, 2004 - Bird Flu in Pennsylvania Poses Uncertain Risk to People -  Gene Analysis Is Underway for New Strain - Genome News Network 

►February 20, 2004 - Salmon can still be part of a healthy diet - Benefits of moderate fish intake likely outweigh the risks (requires registration) - The Medical Posting   

►February 19, 2004 - Lead Story: “Autism” - www.canada.com

►February 19, 2004 - Rare Disease Endemic In South America Is Model For Studying Autoimmunity - A group of men living amid the gold mines and disappearing jungles of northeastern Colombia, is giving a Medical College of Georgia scientist unprecedented access to study how the wrong combination of genetics and environment cause the body to turn on itself. - Medical College Of Georgia via ScienceDaily

►February 19, 2004 - U.S. Worried by HIV Trends in Heterosexuals - Reuters via Yahoo! News 

►February 19, 2004 - Study provides new insights about brain organization - Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 19, 2004 - Bush Administration Distorting Science? - Transcripts of Paula Zahn Now - CNN 

►February 19, 2004 - FISH OIL AND HOSTILITY - Eating fatty fish might make you less hostile - Seattle Post-Intelligencer 

►February 19, 2004 - NIH probe expands - High pay for 'top individuals' questioned; investigating committee chair to step down - The Scientist

►February 19, 2004 - TB vaccine research 'doubled' - With a single grant, Gates Foundation says it boosts global investment by 100% - The Scientist 

►February 16, 2004 - Scientists theorize a new form of autism may be emerging - Scripps Howard News Service via Courierpress.com 

►February 16, 2004 - Prenatal lead exposure linked to schizophrenia - New Scientist  

►February 16, 2004 - Tuna and autism for unborn child - link? - Medical News Today 

►February 15, 2004 - Avian influenza ("bird flu") and the significance of its transmission to humans - WHO 

►February 11, 2004 - Researchers Closer To Answers About Vaccines And Autism - www.kirotv.com 

►February 10, 2004 - Diarrhea Bug May Prevent Cancer, Study Shows - Reuters via ABC News

►February 9, 2004 - Antioxidants protect against Alzheimer's disease - Seniors taking vitamins C and E lowered their risk for dementia (requires registration) - The Medical Posting   

►February 2004 - Call For Full Disclosure of the Money Received By Expert Witness Acting For The Pharmaceutical Companies - Autism Research Campaign for Health 

►February 2004 - Body Of Evidence: New Science In The Debate Over Toxic Flame Retardants And Our Health - U.S. PIRG Reports 

►National Infant Immunization Week April 25 - May 1, 2004 - Theme--Vaccination: An Act of Love - Love them, Protect Them, Immunize Them - CDC  

►November 5, 2003 - Comments on Verstraeten et al, Safety of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines from Nov 5, 2003 Pediatrics - Post-publication Peer Review - journal article (Pediatrics) 

►September 25, 2003 - The Body's First Line of Defense - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

►August 13, 2003 - A shot in the dark - According to a new book, it is not just MMR that parents should be wary of - evidence is mounting that other vaccines may have dangerous side effects - book review - The Guardian