10/02/2005 - The bad press surrounding the
pharmaceutical industry continues with claims that Merck & Co executives
were concerned about infant exposure to mercury in vaccines several years before
the US Food and Drug Administration made the issue public.
The allegations, in yesterday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times, are based on
a memo sent in 1992 to the head of the drugmaker’s vaccine division by
consultant vaccinologist Maurice Hilleman. The memo points out the concerns
raised in Sweden and elsewhere in the world about thiomersal – a preservative
used in vaccines that contains 50 per cent ethyl mercury - and recommends that
it should be removed where possible.
However, the newspaper article does not fully reflect the overall conclusion of the memo, which advised that at that time there was no evidence for a risk from thiomersal, and that regulatory actions in Sweden and other countries were based more on a public perception of risk, rather than any direct evidence of toxic effects.
It was not until 1999 that the FDA made its concerns about the effects of the preservative on child development public, and efforts to minimise the use of thiomersal in vaccines began in earnest.
As of 2000, vaccines recommended for use in children and infants have all been available in versions that contain no (‘thiomersal-free’) or only trace amounts (‘thiomersal preservative-free’) of the compound, with the exception of some multidose vials intended for use in the developing world. This is because where several doses are taken from the same container, thiomersal offers better protection from contamination than other preservatives such as 2-phenoxy ethanol, according to the World Health Organisation.
Along with other vaccine manufacturer, Merck has been named in more than 4,000 claims filed by parents claiming that their children suffered autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders from mercury in vaccines, with other cases awaiting trial in civil courts.
The plaintiffs cite various scientific studies that they say prove the dangers of thimerosal, despite the publication of a report by the US Institute of Medicine last year which review the clinical and epidemiological evidence and concluded that there was no evidence for a causal link between thiomersal and autism.
Separately, Merck is facing legal attacks over Vioxx (rofecoxib), the COX-2 antagonist painkiller it introduced in 1999. The company is dealing with hundreds of lawsuits, filed after the company withdrew the drug from the market in September 2004, claiming Vioxx drug caused heart problems and that Merck concealed the risks. Merck has denied the allegations.
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http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=58004
http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/
Parents of children with autism said this week's revelation that at least one pharmaceutical company knew of the high levels of mercury in vaccinations years before disclosing it further supports their suspicions that the poison causes neurodevelopmental disorders.
Many parents have long been suspicious of the effects of vaccines containing thimerosal, a compound used to guard against contamination and which is almost 50 percent ethyl mercury. Until recently, the neurotoxin was used in many pediatric vaccines; public health officials first acknowledged the high levels of mercury in those shots in 1999.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times uncovered a 1991 memo from a Merck & Co. vaccinologist -- written to the president of the company's vaccine division -- warning that infants who get their shots on time could receive up to 87 times the recommended daily amount of mercury from fish.
Parents such as Kim Garrison of San Francisco and Jennifer Hoffiz of Danville link that heightened amount of mercury to the problems their children have had, although many doctors say no reputable studies reinforce their claim.
Hoffiz has two children, now 8 and 5. Her daughter, Sabrina, is learning-impaired and her son, Steven, has severe autism. She believes both suffer from mercury poisoning.
"My kids are a perfect example of the least amount of damage mercury can cause to the greatest," said Hoffiz, who runs the Sensory Center in Pleasanton, a program meant to help patients dealing with autism, other neurological disorders and brain injuries through "brain exercises."
Garrison's 12-year-old son, Tod, was diagnosed when he was three. She says no one in their family was autistic, and he was developing normally until he received a combination MMR shot -- for measles, mumps and rubella -- when he was a little over 1 year old.
"I think there is very strongly compelling evidence that my son was poisoned," Garrison said. "If somebody can argue the other way, I would be more than happy to believe them. ... I get angry sometimes that I did what the doctors told me, because I didn't want him to get ill, but I think I could have poisoned my son."
That thinking is common in parents whose children are autistic, according to Bryna Siegel, the director of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders Clinic at UC San Francisco. Siegel, who has acted as an expert witness for pharmaceutical companies being sued by parents, sees no correlation between the vaccinations and autism, pointing toward numerous studies that have found just that.
"You have to balance emotion and science," said Siegel, adding that studies before the vaccines showed autistic children developing normally, then losing skills -- such as language -- at the onset, much like Tod did. "I really worry about people going without vaccines for their kids -- people forget how deadly the diseases are you're preventing."
Email: mlagos@examiner.com
