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

►March 3, 2004 - Clinic dismisses attack on MMR doctor - News Shopper - "STAFF at an Eltham clinic offering single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines have dismissed claims that research linking the MMR vaccine to autism is 'poor science'...However, staff at the Direct 2000 clinic, in Grove Market Place, Eltham, believe the revelation is an attempt to influence a judicial review into the withdrawal of legal aid for families suing vaccine manufacturers."

►February 29, 2004 - Now Andrew Wakefield demands apology from The Lancet - Sunday Telegraph via www.awares.org 

►March 2, 2004 - Anthrax vaccine inquiry soldiers demand - Medical News Today 

►February 2004 - First episode of acute CNS inflammatory demyelination in childhood: prognostic factors for multiple sclerosis and disability. - journal article (Journal of Pediatrics) abstract 

►March 2, 2004 - UK autism research 'is lacking' - UK research into the causes and treatment of autism is seriously behind that of other countries, a report says.  - BBC News - "It says the row over a possible link with the MMR jab has over-shadowed the fact that little is known about the behavioural disorder...And it calls for wider research into all aspects of the condition."

►March 4, 2004 - Drug to treat hepatitis B proves useful in blocking anthrax toxin - The University of Chicago Chronicle - "'These toxins pack a one-two punch that makes inhalational anthrax extremely harmful,' said Tang, Associate Professor in the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research at the University. 'For the first time, we have a clinically approved drug that, at least in tissue culture, completely eradicates half of that toxic team, and does it at non-toxic doses.'"

Comment:  That is good news.  In my opinion, it is far better to develop drugs to treat those exposed to anthrax, rather than expose everyone to the known and unknown risks of anthrax vaccination, whether they need it or not.

►March 5, 2004 - Scientist says no study yet proving GMO safety - www.sunstar.com.ph - "Traavik, who is based at the University of Tromso in Norway, admitted that there are not enough studies on the safety of GMOs, even from independent scientists, as the studies entail huge costs...He said the United States-based Monsanto Company, producer of the Bt corn, have presented supposed findings on the safety of their products, but he pointed out that the findings were 'not scientifically substantiated'...'If you look at their (study) design, they were more on the productional elements. There were no studies on what happened to the bodies of the scientists exposed to them,' he said."

►March 4, 2004 - LHS student dies of suspected meningitis - Lemoore Advance via www.newzcentral.com

Comment:  Although meningitis can be deadly, it is still a very rare event.  For that reason, vigilance is needed to guard against any hysteria generated over it.  For more on this, go to Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine?  Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine.

►March 2004 - Effect of Zinc Salts on Respiratory Syncytial Virus Replication - journal article (Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy) - "The results of this study suggest that zinc mediates antiviral activity on RSV by altering the ability of the cell to support RSV replication.^"

►March 2004 - Decrease of Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Children Among 8 Children's Hospitals in the United States After the Introduction of the 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine - journal article (Pediatrics) - "Conclusions. Since the introduction of the PCV7, the number of invasive pneumococcal infections caused by vaccine-serogroup isolates among 8 US children’s hospitals has decreased >75% among children 24 months old. In addition, penicillin resistance decreased in 2002 for the first time since our surveillance began in 1993–1994. However, we have noted that replacement may be developing with serogroups 15 and 33. Furthermore, penicillin resistance seems to be increasing among nonvaccine serogroups. Surveillance must be continued to detect the emergence of changes in the distribution of serotypes as well as antibiotic susceptibility.^"

Comment:  For more on this problem of serotype replacement, go to Scandals: Changing Disease Epidemiology Via Vaccines - Are We "Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"?.

►March 2004 - Chickenpox Outbreak in a Highly Vaccinated School Population - journal article (Pediatrics) - "Conclusions. A chickenpox outbreak occurred in a school in which 97% of students without a prior history of chickenpox were vaccinated. Students vaccinated >5 years before the outbreak were at risk for breakthrough disease. Booster vaccination may deserve additional consideration.^"

Comment:  Or maybe we should start reexamining the wisdom of vaccinating children for this what at least used to be benign disease.  For more on why this might be the case, go to Scandals: When is an oops not really an oops?  When you get to solve the problems you cause, and make money doing both!.

►March 2, 2004 - U.N.: Drug Producers Target Middle-Class - AP via Yahoo!

►March 2, 2004 - Test May Be Safer Way to Detect Fetal Problems - Reuters via Yahoo!

►March 2, 2004 - Improving treatment of medulloblastoma, a common childhood brain tumor - Pilot study demonstrates that presence of ERBB2 protein might identify medulloblastoma patients who are more resistant to treatment - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital via www.eurekalert.org

Comment:  SV40 has been associated with childhood medulloblastoma.  For more on SV40 and cancer, go to Scandals: The Institute of Medicine Review Of SV40 Contamination of Polio Vaccine and Cancer.

►March 3, 2004 - Alternative therapists to face new controls in government crackdown - The Independent, UK - "Rogue practitioners of alternative medicine who try to exploit patients will be driven out of business under plans announced by the Government yesterday...One in five people uses alternative medicine regularly, and there are more therapists than orthodox doctors but no control on standards of training, ministers said."

►March 4, 2004 - Criticism, skepticism surround anthrax vaccine - BioPort defends product despite lawsuits, studies - The State News - "BioPort Corp. executives are the first to admit that a cloud of doubt seems to linger above their anthrax vaccine...Critics relentlessly question if the Lansing-based company's product would be effective against a bioterrorist attack. Others contend the immunization is harmful to those who receive it...Company executives, however, maintain that scientific fact and a series of medical studies vouch for the safety and effectiveness of the nation's only federally licensed anthrax vaccine."

►February 26, 2004 - Iron eating bacteria - Novel bacteria could clean up heavy metal- and chlorine-contaminated environments - The Scientist via www.biomedcentral.com

►March 3, 2004 - Current Vaccine Delays and Shortages - National Immunization Program via www.cdc.gov

►March 3, 2004 - Anti-depressants 'cause bleeding' - Elderly people and those with a history of bleeding disorders have been warned of the risk of taking certain types of anti-depressants. - BBC

►March 2004 - Stopping HRT - If Your Grandma Survived Without It, So Can You - by RFD Columnist Lise Cloutier-Steele - www.redflagsdaily.com

►March 3, 2004 - Parents of Kentuckiana boy say he's part of rising incidence of autism - www.whas11.com - "Evan Riggle's autism is a puzzle – a puzzle his parents say is being pieced together by doctors, therapists, prayer warriors and family. His sister and brother help with his speech...'He hasn't even spoken a word, but he has the potential to change more lives than we ever could,' Evan’s father David says...Emlyn says Evan's system couldn't handle a mercury preservative in vaccines called thimerosal. She says once those vaccines had worn down Evan’s immune system, his one-year measles, mumps and rubella or MMR shot was a knockout punch."

►March 3, 2004 - Justice Seeks Dismissal of Anthrax Lawsuit (requires registration) - AP via The Kansas City Star - "The Justice Department wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by six members of the military who are challenging the Pentagon's use of a vaccination against anthrax...Court papers filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court contend the suit has no merit because the Food and Drug Administration ruled on Dec. 30 that the vaccine was safe and effective."

Comment:  Never mind the fact that the FDA miraculously found reason to approve it just days after the judge declared the vaccine experimental, and put a (what turned out to be) temporary hold on the military's anthrax shot program.

►March 3, 2004 - Inactivated Flu Vaccine Works in Kids Too - Clinical Infectious Diseases via Reuters via Yahoo!

►March 3, 2004 - New Exam May Improve Treatment of Lung Disease - HealthDay via www.kpho.com

►March 2004 - Not All Child Safety Seats Are Created Equal: The Potential Dangers of Shield Booster Seats - journal article (Pediatrics)

►January 8, 2004 - Review in Advance - Isoflavones in Soy Infant Formula: A Review of Evidence for Endocrine and Other Activity in Infants - journal article (Annual Review of Nutrition)

►March 2, 2004 - Editorial: Food fights - journal article (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

►March 1, 2004 - Report: Standard Tests Not Enough for Baby Formula - Reuters via Yahoo!

►March 1, 2004 - Teens and young adults - the new frontier in cancer says US cancer specialist - Teenagers and young adults - the orphans of the cancer world - Teenage Cancer Trust via www.eurekalert.org
 
►March 1, 2004 - Cancer rates in teens and early 20s rising - More research needed to understand causes - Teenage Cancer Trust via www.eurekalert.org - "A new analysis of cancer figures for England[1] shows that the overall incidence among teenagers and young adults is rising, with the biggest increase among 20 to 24-year-olds, particularly in lymphoma, melanoma and germ cell tumours, including testicular germ cell tumours."

Comment:  If those who question sunscreen use are correct, the rise in melanoma could be attributed to increased exposure to the sun, (and the "fact" that sunscreen only prevents burns and not cancer).

►March 2, 2004 - Fast growth increases teenage cancer risk - The Independent - UK

►March 2, 2004 - Breastfeeding Lowers Blood Pressure - Circulation via Ivanhoe

►March 4, 2004 - Addictive Effects of Steroids Raise Questions About Users' Awareness (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times

►March 4, 2004 - Doctors and Patients Start to Curb Use of Antibiotics (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "The inappropriate use of antibiotics has led illness-causing microbes to become resistant to such drugs. Antibiotic resistance is a major public health problem throughout the world and is particularly common among the bacteria that cause ear and respiratory infections."

►March 3, 2004 - Debate Festers Over Autism & MMR - First Coast News - "Bradstreet is also pro-vaccine, despite the results of his research. 'Responsible vaccine policy is the mandate. For example, a nasal measles vaccine is being developed that would be inhaled instead of injected. That's perhaps two years out. Since that's the way the virus is naturally introduced into the body, I'm in favor of that.'...'And whatever cases of regression may be attributable to MMR, we haven't been able to prove enough of them yet for a change in vaccine policy to be necessary. The weight of the evidence still falls squarely on the benefits of vaccination. I think eventually we'll have the data to determine who's at risk, how do we come up with safer vaccines, and how do we make sure all children are protected.'"

►March 3, 2004 - Health Hype - What Ever Happened to the Flu Scare? - ABC News - "The flu is now at levels well below last season ...Health officials had acknowledged that the vaccine formula this season did not cover the so-called 'Fujian' strain of virus, but encouraged vaccinations just the same."

►February 21, 2004 - GlaxoSmithKline staff told not to publicise ineffectiveness of its drug - journal article (BMJ)

►October 2002 - What's in a face? - Novartis Foundation Bulletin

►March 3, 2004 - Autism complaints heading to tribunal - Rights commission forwards 121 cases Families call treatment discriminatory - The Toronto Star

►March 3, 2004 - We fight on - Northwich Chronicle via Liverpool Daily Post via http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk - "A FAMILY who have been fighting for answers for more than 30 years say they will never give up hope of getting justice for their daughter...Fred and Pat Pye, of King George Avenue, Northwich, claim their daughter Debbie was left severely disabled when she was given a DPT injection, a fore-runner of the MMR vaccine, in the late 1960s...Now the couple have taken their fight to the next level, writing to Conservative Party leader Michael Howard in a bid for justice for them and the other 500 families in the region who have found themselves in the same situation."

►March 3, 2004 - Anyone have a tissue? - Carolina Morning News via Lowcountry NOW - "At night, my romantic husband is very prone to whisper in my ear, between sniffles (snorts), 'Honey, where are the tissues? I think you used the last one and I need more.'...Yes, we are just two of the some 30 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies. The most difficult season for allergy sufferers is the spring. Why is that?"

►March 3, 2004 - Dad's Work Cuts Into His Role in Kid's Health Care - HealthDay via Yahoo! - "Fathers who want to be more involved in their children's health care find work is the biggest barrier to being able to attend their kids' doctor visits, says new research."