August 7, 2005

Beginning at the Beginning

[Updated June 12, 2007]

The following is a summary of the history of thimerosal. It is not a complete list, as there is much more information out there and many more details to the information that I have included, but it hits the high points and gives a good frame of reference for where the discussion of the safety of this product and its relationship to autism and neurodevelopmental disorders should begin.

History of Thimerosal and Autism

  • Invented in the 1920’s by Eli Lilly, thimerosal is 49.6% ethlymercury by weight, a neurotoxin known to be more than a hundreds times more lethal to tissue than lead.



  • Eli Lilly’s safety testing of the product consists of a 1930 study of 22 patients dieing from mengiococcal meningitis in an Indiana hospital. Patients are injected with the solutions and followed until their death, which is within days. Because the patients die of meningitis, they are declared to show no adverse reaction to thimerosal and the product is declared safe for use. Thimerosal is subsequently introduced for use in vaccines and in over the counter remedies as a preservative to kill bacteria in the product.



  • When the FDA is created, Thimerosal is grandfathered in and is not subjected to any additional safety testing. The 1930 study remains the only safety testing done on the substance even after being in use for over 75 years.



  • Through FOIA requests and documents acquired as a part of discovery process in lawsuits against Lilly, it is clear that they have been warned about, and have been aware of the dangers of the product since at least 1947.



  • The use of thimerosal in teething powders for infants leads to a fatal out break of Acrodynia, or “Pink’s Disease”, a form of mercury poisoning. This illness has many symptoms in common with Autism. The link to mercury powders was found in the 1940's and by the 1950's Pink's disease was disappearing.



  • In 1963 Eli Lilly was forwarded an article that read in part: "There is another point of practical significance: does the parenteral injection of thimerosal - containing fluids cause disturbances in thimerosal-sensitive patients?" "It is known that persons that are contact sensitive to a drug may tolerate the same medications internally, but it seems advisable to use a preservative other than thimerosal for injections in thimerosal-sensitive people."



  • On August 17, 1967 the Medical/Science department requests that the claim "non-toxic" on thimerosal labels be deleted in next printing run. Two weeks later the label is changed to "non-irritating to body tissues," and the phrase non-toxic omitted.



  • In 1972 The British Medical Journal reports case of skin burns resulting from the chemical interaction of thimerosal and aluminum. "Mercury is known to act as a catalyst and to cause aluminum to oxidize rapidly, with the production of heat." The manufacturers who supply us with thimerosal have been informed." [Thimerosal is being used in vaccines which also contain aluminum].



  • In the 1970’s six newborns at one hospital die as a result of having a thimerosal containing antiseptic wiped on their wounds.



  • In 1982 the FDA reviews the use of thimerosal. Their statement reads in part: “At the cellular level, thimerosal has been found to be more toxic for human epithelial cells in vitro than mercuric chloride, mercuric nitrate, and merbromim (mercurichrom). "It was found to be 35.3 times more toxic for embryonic chick heart tissue than for staphylococcus areus." [a pathogen that the thimerosal is intended to kill]. A 1950 study showed that thimerosal was no better than water in protecting mice from potential fatal streptococcal infection." "The Panel concludes that thimerosal is not safe for over the counter topical use because of its potential for cell damage if applied to broken skin and its allergy potential. It is not effective as a topical antimicrobial because its bacteriastatic action can be reversed." Additional language added to some Lilly labels: "As with any drug, if you are pregnant or nursing a baby, seek the advice of a health professional before using this product." The FDA orders the withdrawal of over the counter, thimerosal containing products within a 6 month period. It does not order removal from vaccines, but recommends that the issue be studied and that the incidence of neurological problems in unvaccinated populations like the Amish be compared to the vaccinated population. [22 years later no such study has yet been done. On July 19, 2005 Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the CDC says that such a study would be difficult to undertake because of genetic confounders. This seems contrary to the scientific process because if indeed such a study is done and it is found that the Amish have a lower incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, the next step would be to undertake genetic studies to see if their genes differ dramatically from the general population and if their differences can help us locate the genetic component of autism. In addition studies designed to see if the small number of vaccinated Amish differ in their risk for NDDs to the larger Amish population would offer information about increased risk from thimerosal.]



  • In the 1930’s the average child only received three vaccines in their young life. Many vaccines are added to the schedule over the years, with an increase in the 1980’s and with 3 vaccines added to the schedule in 1991 alone. The current vaccine schedule calls for 31 vaccines in the first 18 months of life, 48 with full flu vaccination by 72 months of life.



  • A Merck internal memo is obtained during discovery discloses that in 1991 a Merck researcher added up the amount of mercury that is in the new vaccine schedule and sounded an alarm at the company that children who are vaccinated according to it would receive amounts of mercury far and above that considered to be safe by the EPA. Merck takes no action in regard to the information.



  • During the 1990’s, autism rates begin to rise dramatically. Parents complain to the health authorities that they believe that their children’s developmental disorders are related to their vaccines.



  • In 1998, a researcher at the CDC does the same math that Merck did 7 years previously. She finds that children are getting as much as 125 times the EPA limit of mercury for their weight. The EPA limit is based on the ingestion of methlymercury in food by a healthy adult. Because 90% of ingested mercury is excreted in the digestive track and never enters the blood stream, so even the EPA limit may be drastically lacking considering that thimerosal is injected directly into the blood stream and is not subject to the bodies natural defenses against toxic poisoning.



  • In 1999, the CDC and the American Association of Pediatrics issue a joint statement saying that although they find no “evidence of harm” from the mercury exposure that children are getting in their vaccines, they are calling on vaccine manufacturers to remove it from vaccines on a voluntary basis as a precautionary measure because “some children may” get more than the EPA limit for mercury at their 6 month visits. Manufactures begin the process in 1999, but do not remove it from all vaccines.

    No legal ban on thimerosal is issued.

    No recall of the mercury laden vaccines is issued and companies continue to sell lots already manufactured. Some of these vaccines containing full doses of thimerosal have been found in doctors’ offices, by parents who request to read package inserts, with expiration dates as late as 2007.

    No independent or government testing of vaccines is done to confirm that thimerosal has been removed. FDA denies parents request that they set up a system to verify manufacturers claims of low dose or thimerosal free vaccines.

    No statement is issued to pediatricians to alert them to the symptoms of mercury poisoning.

    No recommendation is made to pediatricians to screen children who suffered the onset neurological impairment after vaccination for mercury toxicity.



  • Vaccines with 25mcg of thimerosal are still shipped to developing countries Most flu shots still contain a full dose of thimerosal as of this writing in 2007. (The EPA estimates that a person must weigh 550 lbs. to safely tolerate this amount of mercury.)



  • In November of 1999, the CDC commissions one of its new employees, a Belgian named Thomas Verstraten, to study the Vaccine Safety Datalink to find the risk of autism and other NDDs in relation to thimerosal exposure. Verstraten’s first draft of the study finds a relative risk above 7 for children who receive the highest dose of thimerosal to develop autism. In simple terms, such children have a more than a 600% higher chance of developing autism than children who don’t receive any thimerosal. (A relative risk of 2 is sufficient proof in U.S. courts to find for vaccine injury) Verstraten and other scientists at the CDC spend 4 years trying to change the study so that the relationship between the preservative and NDD’s is significantly reduced or eliminated. The Center for Disease Control will later describe these changes to the study as “improvements”. When the study is published in 2003, it concludes that “no consistent significant associations are found between thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental outcomes.” By this time Thomas Verstraten, who is listed as a CDC employee on the study, has been an employee of GlaxoSmithKlein (a defendant in thimerosal law suits) for more than 2 years.



  • In November of 2000, despite being born almost two months prematurely and despite the assurance of my pediatrician that thimerosal had been removed from vaccines, my son Webster is injected with a DTaP vaccine that was 74.5 times the EPA limit for mercury exposure for his weight, just two weeks past his due date. He will go on to develop verbal apraxia and sensory integration disorder.



  • In 2001 Bernard et. al. publish their hypothesis: Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning. It reads in part: “Exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits defining or associated with autism, and the similarities extend to neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, and biochemistry. Thimerosal, a preservative added to many vaccines, has become a major source of mercury in children who, within their first two years, may have received a quantity of mercury that exceeds safety guidelines. A review of medical literature and US government data suggests that: (i) many cases of idiopathic autism are induced by early mercury exposure from thimerosal; (ii) this type of autism represents an unrecognized mercurial syndrome; and (iii) genetic and non-genetic factors establish a predisposition whereby thimerosal’s adverse effects occur only in some children.”



  • In 2001 the Institute of Medicine is commissioned by the CDC to undertake a comprehensive review of all research into the thimerosal/autism connection. At their first meeting, Dr Stratton, head of the commission, when discussing what the process and product of the working group would be states that, “We said this before you got here, and I think we said this yesterday, the point of no return, the line we will not cross in public policy is to pull the vaccine, change the schedule. We could say it is time to revisit this, but we would never recommend that level. Even recommending research is recommendations for policy. We wouldn’t say compensate, we wouldn’t say pull the vaccine, we wouldn’t say stop the program”. When the transcript of the meeting is made public through a FOIA request, many interpret this to mean that no matter what they find, they will not publicly say that there is any link between the thimerosal and autism. Dr. Harvey Fineberg, head of the IOM, states that this is an incorrect interpretation of the comments, but will not offer any alternate interpretation of what else they could mean.



  • In 2001 Verstraten presents a version of his study to the IOM. He begins his presentation by telling the panel that as of 8 am that morning, he had become an employee of Glaxo Smith Klein. Despite the conflict of interest and the drastic changes made over the course of the study, the IOM will rely heavily on the study in making their determination. Dr. Verstraten returns to Belgium and except for a letter published in Pediatrics, little is heard from him again.



  • In March of 2002 my son Chandler, who was born one month early, is injected with Hepatitis B vaccine containing a “trace amount” of thimerosal (currently still on the schedule), despite the fact that he has no risk factors for Hepatitis B, and he is still two weeks from reaching his due date. Within days he develops fevers and uncontrollable crying that lasts for three months and bowel problems that persist for two years until he is placed on the GFCF diet. He will go on to be diagnosed with both Autism and mercury poisoning at age 2. I later discover that the “trace amount” of thimerosal is still just over the EPA limit of mercury for his weight.



  • In 2003 the Verstraten Study is published in Pediatrics with no mention of the conflict of interest of the lead researcher. Later a private contractor would testify before congress that he was ordered to destroy the original data sets used in the 1999 version of the study that found the dramatic link between thimerosal and autism in the interest of “patient confidentiality”. The entire Vaccine Safety Datalink is eventually moved to an offshore private company and can no longer be accessed by FOIA request.



  • In February of 2004, the IOM rushes to hold public hearings where researchers on both sides of the issues present their studies. The meeting is considered to be a “draw” between the two sides by many of those in attendance. A link is neither proved nor disproved, but new research in to the mechanism of how mercury can trigger autism and NDDs in a genetically vulnerable sub population is presented, along with case studies of successful treatment of autistic symptoms based on the new research.



  • In May of the same year, the IOM issues their final conclusion on the link between Thimerosal and NDDs. They state that, “the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. The committee further finds that potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autism that have been generated to date are theoretical only.” They then go on to take the unusual step of recommending that research into a link between the two be abandoned and funds be spent on other lines of inquiry. The conclusion relies heavily on Verstraten and several other epidemiological studies that are considered to implement fatally flawed methods and to be riddled with conflict of interest by members of the autism community. Parent groups are enraged. The IOM panel disbands.



  • Later that year, Thomas Verstraten publishes a letter in Pediatrics in response to those who criticize his study and his conflict of interest. His letter does not address the substance of the charges made against the study and the changes that were made to it over it’s 4 year evolution, but instead says that continuing the debate the validity of the 1999 study would be a “waste of scientific energy and not to the benefit of the safety of US children or of all the children world wide that have the privilege of being vaccinated.” He goes on to say that any suggestion of impropriety on the part of himself, the CDC or GSK is an insult and accuses his critics of having “pitiable attitudes”.



  • In July of 2005, in the face of continuing criticism of the IOM findings, the head of the IOM, Dr. Harvey Fineberg, issues a letter stating that Dr. Stratton’s 2001 comments that they would not say “pull the vaccine” or “change the schedule” were taken out of context and did not suggest that the IOM decision was compromised. Dr. Fineberg has not, despite requests, offered an alternative interpretation of what her comments meant in context.



  • In March of 2005, Author David Kirby released his book, “Evidence of Harm - Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy” detailing the history of thimerosal in vaccines and its relationship to autism.



  • In April of 2005 the CDC posts a notice on their web site stating that they were in the process of reviewing “Evidence of Harm” and would be responding to the book.



  • In June of 2005 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. echoed the information found in the book and charged the CDC and Eli Lilly of malfeasance in covering up evidence of a causal effect between thimerosal and autism in an article published in Rolling Stone and Salon.com. It is entitled “Deadly Immunity: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. investigates the government cover-up of a mercury/autism scandal”.



  • July 19, 2005. The CDC holds a press conference to: “communicate the importance of infants and children receiving their recommended vaccinations on time, and reassure parents that vaccines are safe. The renewed attention to the potential causal link between thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, and autism will also be addressed during the press conference.” Vaccine safety groups are not informed of the press conference nor invited. The conference presents no new information and does not answer important questions raised in Evidence of Harm or Deadly Immunity about the conduct of the CDC the IOM or the reliability of the research that continues to be used to show no link between thimerosal and autism.



  • As of this writing June 26, 2007 the CDC has yet to issue its response to “Evidence of Harm” or to “Deadly Immunity”.



  • In June of 2007 the first vaccinated v. unvaccinated study is finally done... by parents. Generation Rescue funded a survey using the CDC's techniques for determining incidence of a disorder and found that vaccinated children are two and a half times more likely to have a neurodevelopmental disorder. CDC spokesman Curtis Allen said, "We look forward to learning more about the survey," . If the CDC responds to the survey this paper will be updated to reflect their response.



  • On June 25, 2007 Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the "Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007" (H.R. 2832), legislation that would require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a comprehensive comparative study of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Her stated purpose is to resolve the controversy about the possible link between autism and mercury or other vaccine components.
  • 29 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    I had to stop reading this, because it broke my heart and hit to close to home. My son was born on 1/22/99, a premie. He was three weeks early and weighed 5lbs. 11oz. Skip ahead a few years, he is now 6, he has PDD NOS, a rare seizure disorder, and so many learning difficulties. There is no family history on either side. I believe with all my heart that thimersol did this to our son.
    Janeen
    Uxbridge MA

    Anonymous said...

    My daughter was born 8 weeks prematurely in July 1993. Despite only weighing 4 lbs, she was given the Hep B vaccine the day after she was born. I also received RhoGam at delivery in which thimersol was passed through my breastmilk. By 2 months old, weighing less than 10 lbs, she had received many thimersol containing vaccines. My daughter has suffered all of her life and has been recently diagnosed as Autistic, Asperger Syndrome. We have no family history on either side. How many more families must endure this fate?

    Anonymous said...

    Our son was born Aug. 1994. He was an irritable colicky baby and after each immunization was covered in rash and fever for days and was inconsolable for nearly a week. His first diagnosis was PDD NOS, later autism and he is now in the Asperger's range. He was also curiuosly similar to the seizure disorder, Landeau- kleffner but was never confirmed.
    At age 11 he is suffering from severe regression in multiple areas of sensory integration, anxiety, after having a flu vaccine administered for being brother to a high risk sibling.
    Child cannot function in any setting and is triggered into a level of "Autism" we cannot believe. Open your eyes, America.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi,

    I am in the process of compiling a report and power point on the autism debate of wheter or not immunizations have an effect. I was very interested in the history post you have on thimerosal and wondered if you had any sort of citation for it or link to a website? If so could you please email it to me. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. -Katie

    Ginger Taylor said...

    Katie,

    I pulled an all nighter to put this together and didn't keep track of sources. I can go back and rebuild it, but it would take several hours.

    I remember that I pulled several documents off the Safe Minds web site and took pieces from Evidence of Harm. And I had a stack of documents with me that I have just gathered randomly over the last year. I have them all archived at http://autismfiles.com/

    Sorry that I am not more helpful.

    Anonymous said...

    My son was born in California in 1996. I remember prior to his first birthday the doctor giving him 5 vaccicinations in one visit. I remember that being a really tough week in terms of not being able to soothe him.
    He was diagnosed in first grade as having "non-specific encephalitis". He has sensory and verbal apraxias and sensory integration disorder. The vaccine link is all making sense

    Anonymous said...

    Some great research can be found at www.GenerationRescue.org.

    Autism is mercury poisoning. I believe in this like I believe the sky is blue. The symptoms are the same. My son is a Rhogam baby and vaccinated and is autistic. My younger two kids are not vaccinated and very healthy and normal. We are also in the process of chelating our ASD son and he is getting better, much better. If it isn't the mercury, why would getting it out of his body make him better!

    So many health issues are really toxic levels of metals in our bodies. As vaccination has gone up the health of our children has only declined. Cancer is rising at the rate of 10% each year. Kids are getting asthma, life threatening allergies, seizure disorders, auto immune diseases, diabetes, and ADD/ADHD in record levels, actually increasing as the vaccination rates increase. And interesting enough, most babies who die of SIDS do so shortly after vaccination, within days. These companies are killing our kids and everyone seems to turn a blind eye. The truth is that money corrupts and the vaccine industry is a multi billion dollar industry run by for-profit companies. They get money from the vaccines themselves and continued revenue from all the drugs needed to treat what the vaccines cause.

    May God have mercy on those willing to sell our babies health for money. Glad I won't have to answer for that one!

    Anonymous said...

    My daughter was born on April 26th 1991, only months after the Amereican Vetinarian Association banned vaccines for pets since "brain damage" was being seen in dogs. My daughter is autistic, and it breaks my heart every day. I am involved in a federal lawsuit for fraud against these Companies.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi
    My son was born in 2/17/1998 in Palo Alto California. He was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. I remember that when he received the two month shots, he cried without stopping. He also had high fever. Months later, he would wake up in the middle of the night crying as if something had hurt him.

    It is really sad. Every time I read articles like this one, I brake in tears. These companies have destroyed our lives. Every day I convinced myself that autism is caused by vaccines.

    What can I do to join to the suit against the government? Where can I get information?

    Ginger Taylor said...

    Yours is the same story for many of us. I am sorry that this is causing you more pain.

    It is a hard thing to come to terms with.

    Unfortunately, there is a three year statute of limitations of vaccine compensation claims. You would have had to file last year.

    If you want detailed information, ask questions on the Evidence of Harm list on Yahoo Groups. There are people there that understand the legal options better than I do.

    My best to you and your family.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ginger
    Thanks for responding to my message. Even If I couldn't file a claim against the government, I would be more than happy to see that someone could do it.
    Right now I have to say that my son is an angel who makes me happy day by day. Unfortunately, after he was diagnosed with autism, his father couldn't handle it, and we got separated. However, we have been able to be happy. My only fear is to think of what would happen to my son if someday I am not around.

    I just want to thank you for this space. I also wish you the best for your angel and for you

    Adriana

    Scott said...

    To Barbar Bonar:
    Where can I find more about the vaccine ban by the vets??

    I have several grandchildren with various neurological challenges, but most of the family think I'm a 'health nut'. Its hard to watch all this happening.

    Scotty

    angelheartco said...

    To the Parents of Autistic Children:
    My heart goes out to all of you. As you know, Autism is a complex neurological disorder with many etiologies and has a broad range of symptoms. Please know, that help is available. As an Oriental Medicine practitioner, I give the following advice:
    1) Mercury Detox – is very important. It’s advisable to work with a Naturopathic Doctor who is experienced in Mercury Chelation. A list of ND’s is available on DAN’s website (Defeat Autism Now). Go to www.autism.com

    2) Lyme Disease – Autistic children who have Lyme Disease as well (which can be triggered by the mercury in vaccines), may respond favorably to Moxa pills (also known as Wormwood or Artemisia). Moxa, made from the mugwart grass, is a homeopathic herb that naturally kills certain strains of bacteria, viruses, and parasites, without the side effects of anti-biotics. It’s best to work with a knowledgeable practitioner.

    3) Diet – I recommend an allergy free diet: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, and Lectin-free combined with the Blood Type Diet by Dr. Peter D’damo. In many cases, it can increase the child’s speech ability and focus. However contrary to Dr. D’damo, I believe we all need some red meat in our diet. Vitamin B-12 (which is necessary to maintain the myelin sheath around neurons) is best absorbed through the consumption of red meat. In my years of working with patients with neurological & degenerative disorders, I’ve found that Vegetarians were more susceptible to these disorders. It’s particularly important that Autistic children with Lyme have lean red meat and take a Methyl B-12 supplement. Lyme eats proteins such as Myelin, so these kids are at higher risk for having the same conditions as an M.S. patient.

    4) Exercise – It’s important these kids do aerobic exercise at least 3x week; preferably exercise that causes sweating which helps to detox. It also gets the lymphatic system going to eliminate toxins from the body. I recommend the elliptical machine (easy on knees), treadmill or stationery bike.

    5) Medical Chi Gong – In addition to diet and exercise, Medical Chi Gong may be helpful in reducing the symptoms of Autism (as long as it’s not genetic) and Lyme Disease. For more info, you can go to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5JafIi7JfKQ

    Love and light, Master Sari

    angelheartco said...

    Warning to Parents:

    Important to note that "Mercury free vaccines" still have mercury in them, which is VERY MISLEADING. The pharmaceutical companies merely reduced the levels of Thimerosal. Until the CDC changes its regulations, all vaccines still have some traces of Thimerosal. Thimerosal, which is ethylmercury, is 100 times more lethal than lead. We have been warned about the use of lead in paints. If we won't use lead on our walls, than why would we give our children mercury? It's like asking them to drink paint, only 100 times worse!

    Today, most schools in the US require children to be vaccinated in order to be admitted. You can however claim "religious exemption" whether you are religious or not. Parents, it is within your right not to have your children vaccinated. See the following articles:
    http://thinktwice.com/laws.htm
    http://thinktwice.com/vaccine.htm

    Suing the pharmaceutical companies will not change things. These drug companies will not comply unless the CDC changes their regulations. The CDC, time and time again, has chosen to turn a blind eye to this growing epidemic. It’s going to take an “Act of Congress” to change the laws. Parents, if you want to get involved, write to your Congressperson; Write to the publications and the media; Bann together, form a class action lawsuit against the CDC. But if you do that, you must have the scientific research to back it up. Statistics can be used in the court of law. The evidence are your children. It’s time we stand together to give our children a better future.

    Unknown said...

    If you are going to post a timeline please be totally accurate. First look at the timeline regarding the ability to diagnose Autism

    The DSM-I

    The DSM-I was originally released in 1952. Although autism was recognized as a unique condition as early as 1943, it was not included in the DSM. Instead, children who exhibited autistic-like symptoms were diagnosed under the schizophrenic reaction, childhood type label.
    The DSM-II

    The second release of the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders came in 1968. As with the first release, autism was not included as a separate diagnostic category. In Roy Richard Grinker’s book, Unstrange Minds, the DSM-II included the following language: “the condition may be manifested by autistic, atypical and withdrawn behavior.” Children exhibiting these behaviors were diagnosed as schizophrenic, childhood type.
    The DSM-III

    In 1980, the DSM-III was released and we finally see the inclusion of autism as a separate diagnostic category. At this point, there was only one autism designation and it was entitled infantile autism. There were only six characteristics listed and each of these six symptoms must be present in order for an individual to be diagnosed with infantile autism. Due to some controversy surrounding the descriptor infantile, this category was changed to autistic disorder in 1987.
    The DSM-IV

    The most recent complete release of the DSM, the DSM-IV, occurred in 1994. At this point, the category of pervasive developmental disorders and several subtypes were added. In addition to autistic disorder, a diagnosis could be made under the categories of Asperger’s Disorder, Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

    Besides the inclusion of four new subtypes, drastic changes were made to the criteria that needed to be met in order to receive a diagnosis of autistic disorder. The current release of the DSM has a list of 16 different symptoms used to describe autistic disorder and a patient only needs to exhibit six of the 16 to receive the diagnosis. This is in stark contrast to the language used in the 1980 release of the DSM-III.


    Then consider the timeline that shows the existence of autism before the tragedy in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia that where 12 out of 20 children died from bacteria contaminated multi-use bottles of a vaccine. This tragedy occurred in January 1928. Ewa Ssuchareva (Ssucharewa), a Russian researcher first described this condition in 1926 a full two years before the Bundaberg Tragedy and at least four years before the first thimerosal was used in vaccines. Because she was in the newly formed Soviet Russia all her work was not released to the rest of the world until after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So there are a number of things that have contributed to the rise in diagnostics of Autism including the number of people like myself and all my adult children that were never diagnosed until we reached adulthood. If me and at least 10 other individuals that I know personally had been diagnosed when we were between the ages of 2 and 7 (typical ages for Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis) that would have increased the numbers in the years between 1964 and 1969 by the ten of us. How many more were missed because there was no diagnostic criteria for Asperger's until 1994. Well I know of at least 3 more because they are my three oldest kids, ages 28, 26, and 24. So they should have been diagnosed between 1981-1986 for the 28 year old, 1983-1988 for the 26 year old, and 1985-1990 for the 24 year old but they could not even consider being diagnosed until 1994 because there was nothing to diagnose them with in the book. Can you see the problem here. This can go all the way back to when Autism was separated from Schizophrenia in 1980. Even Temple Grandin was not diagnosed with Autism as her first diagnosis. The label became Autism but the first diagnosis she was given was mental retardation with schizophrenic traits. The diagnostic process has changed significantly over the years and if you fail to lend credibility to that you deny the very existence of people like me that were not diagnosed as children because of the poor diagnostic criteria that existed when we were young. Do I believe that putting a neurotoxin in vaccines is a good idea? NO! Do we need to get all forms of Thimerosol out of vaccines? YES! However, we also need to get rid of all multi-dose vials because they require preservatives and single use vials do not. All the preservatives are unhealthy not just Thimerosol. What we do not need to do is distort the reality that there are some Autistic people that have never been exposed to Thimerosol and yet they are Autistic. We need to recognize that not all cases of Autism is caused by vaccines and that not all genetic Autistics desire to be "cured" and we certainly do not support prenatal diagnostics if they are going to be used to allow for Eugenic abortions like the prenatal diagnostics do in cases of Down Syndrome where world wide the abortion rate of prenatally diagnosed kids with Down Syndrome is between 85% and 97%. The other thing to consider is that even if your child is vaccine injured and is now truly Autistic then it is a permanent condition and unless you fight for their right to be treated with dignity and respect right along beside all the genetic Autistics and the "we don't care why" parents then we may lose the fight and your child will still have to live in the world that views him as broken and in need of curing. Is that what you really want for your child? Is that what any of you want for your children? It is not what I want for mine so I am going to fight for our right to exist as a cultural group and community just like the Deaf community.

    Anonymous said...

    i am doing a research paper on autism, and i was hoping you had the sources to your facts
    email me at artkac@aol.com

    Ginger Taylor said...

    I have them, but didn't footnote as I went as I should have.

    I wrote this in a marathon session overnight before going to my senator's office, and skipped the notations. Sorry.

    If you have specific parts you want the source on, email me and I will try to find it, but I am working and don't have time to do the whole thing.

    I have since learned my lesson and always link and credit.

    Unknown said...

    Please give me an original source that shows Lilly was using thimerosal in vaccines in the 1930s. I can't find any.

    Ginger Taylor said...

    cpericone,

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    Since you are writing to me from Johnson and Johnson headquarters in New Jersey, it seems to me you should have considerable resources with which to answer this question.

    Not only should you have access to all kinds of databases full of ancient information that I don't, since your company actually has a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly to use their patented product, thimerosal, you or your lawyers (or your as their lawyer, whichever is appropriate) could just pick up the phone and call Lilly and ask them exactly what day, and in what products, thimerosal began to be used in the 1930's.

    When you do that, please come back and let us know what you found out.

    I want to also invite you to click this link and read all my criticisms of J&J and offer me some sort of justification (or apology) for your corporation's unethical behavior. http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/search/label/Johnson%20and%20Johnson
    You guys have been here many times before to read them, so I am sure you must have an answer by now.

    You will forgive me if I don't drop everything and go find the source for this. I have to attend to my son who developed autism and mercury poisoning after I received your thimerosal containing Rhogam shot.

    But since you are a paid employee of J&J, I am sure it will not put you out to do your own research and to stop pretending to be someone who is actually inquisitive about the damage that thimerosal might be doing instead of trying to defend your company against Rhogam/thimerosal lawsuits.

    Asshole.

    Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

    Yo, J&J dude here you go, from the FDA - link follows.

    What is thimerosal?

    Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used in some vaccines since the 1930's, when it was first introduced by Eli Lilly Company. It is 49.6% mercury by weight and is metabolized or degraded into ethylmercury and thiosalicylate.
    http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimfaq.htm#q3

    nhokkanen said...

    Our friend from Johnson & Johnson fails to realize that we have years' worth of archives, backed up and replicated on countless computers worldwide.

    All we're waiting for are the wheels of justice to grind a bit faster.

    Artemis said...

    VERY VERY well researched. It was as if you were on the same road I traveled… just felt compelled to add a little more detail (accuracy)to the Eli Lilly timeline…

    On November 13, 2002 the United States House of Representatives passed the Homeland Security Act. The bill subsequently was passed by US Senate and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002. The bill set up a new Department of Homeland Security and provided for the biggest reorganization in government since 1947. The last four sections of the bill (sec. 1714-1717), slipped into the bill in a midnight provision, shielded the pharmaceutical industry, specifically Eli Lilly, from lawsuits for injuries caused by FDA-approved vaccines. This included mercury containing pediatric vaccines potentially associated with the development of autism.

    The pharmaceutical giant has powerful friends in the White House; aafter leaving the CIA in 1977, George H.W. Bush served as Corporate Director of Eli Lilly appointed by none other than Dan Quayle’s father, who owned controlling interest in the Lilly Company. The current President Bush had just appointed Lilly CEO, Sidney Taurel, to the Homeland Security Council, White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels, now Governor of Indiana, was also a Lilly executive, and Randall Tobias, former Eli Lilly and Company Chairman, President and CEO was appointed by George W. Bush to serve as the United State’s Global AIDS Coordinator with the rank of Ambassador and is currently the nation's first Director of United States Foreign Assistance, and concurrently, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    In the 1940s, Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals participated in MKULTRA experiments using mescaline and LSD. MKULTRA is not just a conspiracy theory. The projects it encompassed came about expanding on the works of the Nazi doctors and scientists recruited from Operation Paperclip. It is a fact that the CIA proposed and conducted mind control experimentation from the mid 1940's on, using the German scientists courted by our nation. These experiments are matter is of public record and Senate Committee investigation. In 1975, during the first senate committee meeting concerning MKULTRA it was said; "From its beginning in the early 1950s until its termination in 1963, the program of surreptitious administration of LSD to unwitting non-volunteer human subjects.” What actually is revealed is certainly stranger and more frightening than fiction is where the CIA got its LSD? In 1953, the CIA asked Eli Lilly to make them up a batch of LSD, which Lilly subsequently donated to the CIA. Then, in 1954, Lilly scored a major breakthrough when its researchers worked out a complicated 12- to 15-step process to manufacture first lysergic acid (the basic building block) and then LSD itself from chemicals available on the open market. The Lilly discovery was important because the government henceforth could buy LSD in "tonnage quantities," which made it a potential chemical-warfare agent.

    http://shodor.org/succeed-1.0/programs/compchem97/serotonin/

    A Comparison of Serotonin and Lysergic Acid.

    http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/a_serotonin_clue_in_autism

    A Serotonin Clue In Autism

    George H.W. Bush was a director of Eli Lilly as well as director of the CIA at a time when much paperwork concerning MKULTRA accidentally surfaced. It is my only explanation for Dan Quayle’s nomination for Vice President. My problem is I don’t think the increase in autism was accidental.

    Like Ginger said, if you have specific parts you want the source on, and I will try to find it, I have spent time over many years to do the whole thing.

    I have also have learned my lesson and always link and credit.

    Diana

    Mom of a bunch of great kids... said...

    How do these people live with themselves? How can they sleep at night?

    I'm so sorry.

    Nickgonewalkabout said...

    I'm an American citizen living in Thailand. My first girl was born here 14 months ago. We have another on the way. Naturally I'm eager to avoid injecting them with mercury-based vaccines but can find no alternative.

    The USA is leading the information war on this issue but outside of the USA and Europe, the world is largely ignorant. The Japanese Enchephalitis shot for example, is considered important protection in SE Asia. However, I wouldn't know how to obtain a mercury-free option. At the childrens clinic recently, I asked to see the product information with my daughter's shot. Thimerosol was clearly listed (.0015 w/v%) in a vaccine issued by Green Cross Corporation, Japan. I baulked, we left immediately, and my daughter remains unprotected in a low-risk rural area. She was not forced to accept the jab and I have time to seek alternatives.

    The JE shot also proved a problem for California in 2008/09. They waived the ban on mercury vaccines, for this particular shot only, there being so few alternative options.

    There would seem to be incredible and profitable business potential here for bio-chemists to facilitate distribution of mercury-free vaccines for children and adults, thereby challenging a malignent monopoly with moral authority.

    There seems to be need too, for a coordinated national and international political campaign to remove mercury in vaccines and other products.

    A list of Congressmen for example; those free from the influence of the AMA/pharmaceutical/for-profit quangos. Is such a list available?

    Ron Paul's stand on mercury is unknown to me, and perhaps someone has insight?. As a maverick republican MD, it could be an issue that helps him get elected. It certainly has that potential to get people's attention. Fundamental earth-moving issues like these could be the basis of everyone's vote in 2012 and beyond. Indeed, I certainly hope so.

    It grieves me greatly to understand at a mature age, that things remain bad for so long. Considering further, the content of the Georgia Guidestones, it seems natural to conclude the world population is forced into sickness by a nauseating right-wing agenda. Ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones.

    But now that so many more have greater clarity, self-evident via the internet, these sour times can only be the darkness before the dawn.

    Grace be with you
    Mercy and peace
    from God the Father
    and Lord Jesus Christ, our
    sheperd, our Buddha,
    In truth, love, and delight

    Unknown said...

    I am so sorry. I stumbled upon this blog while randomly surfing the net. I have a baby boy on the way.

    Is it safe to forgo vaccines? I mean doesn't that leave him vulnerable as well? I honestly just don't know which devil is worse, the chance that he might contract something I didn't vaccinate him against, or the thought that by trying to protect him, I could seriously mess him up. I know this is an old blog post, but has there been any progress on the front?

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    Dak said...

    I understand why this looks like it’s some kind of problematic conspiracy, but the thimerosal link is clearly disproven by comparing autism rates in the US and Canada for, the time period where the US was using multi-dose vials with thimerosal and Canada was not (after 1992). The rates are *the same*. El9minating thimerosal,*Id not so;be the problem*. So while there may be vaccine-triggered autism, thimerosal isn’t the smoking gun. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796520/

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