Nirvana
17-02-09, 04:46 AM
As I was doing some reading on vaccines and adjuvants, I came across few articles that say that thimerosal has not been removed from the vaccines given in under-developed countries.
hxxp://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2006/04/thimerosal-and-autism-in-india_06.html
There was pressure on the us government for legislation against mercury in vaccines. At the same time, a combative vaccine industry brandished studies vouching the safety of mercury in vaccines. Nonetheless, the us states of Iowa and California passed legislations in favour of mercury-free vaccines. The uproar was not restricted to the us: the Danish parliament, in 1992, banned the heavy metal from vaccines.
The uk has recently passed a similar legislation. At the root of the problem is thimerosal: this preservative with a 50 per cent mercury constituent is a key ingredient of multi-dose vaccines. These vials are about 10 times cheaper than single-dose vials, making it easier for international agencies to procure vaccines for programmes in developing countries including India. In 2000, for instance, about 80 per cent of vaccines administered globally were supplied in multi-dose vials.
But these vials require preservatives because they are used over longer periods. Thimerosal fits this requirement. So, it’s not surprising that international bodies such as the World Health Organization (who) and unicef recommend this preservative. Even those vaccine manufacturers based in developed countries who make mercury-free vaccines for domestic consumption use this heavy metal in their products for developing countries.
But what about alternatives to thimerosal? We do have alternative preservatives like 2-phenoxyethanol. Drug manufacturers around the world are also considering the use of other preservatives like benzalkonium chloride and benzethonium chloride. But says Varaprasad Reddy, ceo of Shantha Biotechnics, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, “We have manufactured vaccines withot thimerosal. It’s not difficult to produce them. But the who does not permit us to supply such vaccines to the unicef ” .
Besides, the use of these alternatives would require a complete change in the licensing regime. For, Indian Pharmacoepia — a document that contains guidelines on drug constituents — makes it mandatory for vaccines to have mercury.
hxxp://www.vaccineindia.org/
This is a site that I discovered recently and I am not at all impressed with the contents.
hxxp://www.vaccineindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=200&Itemid=181
Not all mercury is created equally and some forms pose a greater health risk than others. For example mercury vapour is extremely dangerous whereas amalgam, used in dental fillings, has not been shown to pose a health risk.
Mercury becomes harmful only after it reaches a certain level in the body. The toxicity depends on the amount of mercury consumed in relation to body weight and can accumulate over a period of time. Infants are therefore at greater risk than adults because they are smaller.
When thiomersal-containing vaccines are in the childhood vaccination schedule, the maximum number of doses of thiomersal-containing vaccines a 6 month old child might have received was as follows:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: list .5in">3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, <LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: list .5in">3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine, and
3 doses of Hib vaccine.
This would have resulted in a total intake of 175 µg of ethylmercury, which is equivalent to about 1.9 µg/kg body weight per week, for an average-sized baby. This level is well below the World Health Organization (WHO) limit for methylmercury. Studies measuring mercury levels in the blood of infants given thiomersal-containing vaccines have indicated that their blood concentrations of mercury did not rise above designated levels, except possibly transiently in a premature infant less than 1kg in weight.
I want to send the great team at the above site some studies which show that ethyl mercury and methy mercury are very different in toxicity and half-life period. But that's OT.
I am not able to find credible articles that say that thimerosal is still used in vaccines in countries like India. Does anyone else have more info? All I can find is such blogs or similar entries.
hxxp://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2006/04/thimerosal-and-autism-in-india_06.html
There was pressure on the us government for legislation against mercury in vaccines. At the same time, a combative vaccine industry brandished studies vouching the safety of mercury in vaccines. Nonetheless, the us states of Iowa and California passed legislations in favour of mercury-free vaccines. The uproar was not restricted to the us: the Danish parliament, in 1992, banned the heavy metal from vaccines.
The uk has recently passed a similar legislation. At the root of the problem is thimerosal: this preservative with a 50 per cent mercury constituent is a key ingredient of multi-dose vaccines. These vials are about 10 times cheaper than single-dose vials, making it easier for international agencies to procure vaccines for programmes in developing countries including India. In 2000, for instance, about 80 per cent of vaccines administered globally were supplied in multi-dose vials.
But these vials require preservatives because they are used over longer periods. Thimerosal fits this requirement. So, it’s not surprising that international bodies such as the World Health Organization (who) and unicef recommend this preservative. Even those vaccine manufacturers based in developed countries who make mercury-free vaccines for domestic consumption use this heavy metal in their products for developing countries.
But what about alternatives to thimerosal? We do have alternative preservatives like 2-phenoxyethanol. Drug manufacturers around the world are also considering the use of other preservatives like benzalkonium chloride and benzethonium chloride. But says Varaprasad Reddy, ceo of Shantha Biotechnics, a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, “We have manufactured vaccines withot thimerosal. It’s not difficult to produce them. But the who does not permit us to supply such vaccines to the unicef ” .
Besides, the use of these alternatives would require a complete change in the licensing regime. For, Indian Pharmacoepia — a document that contains guidelines on drug constituents — makes it mandatory for vaccines to have mercury.
hxxp://www.vaccineindia.org/
This is a site that I discovered recently and I am not at all impressed with the contents.
hxxp://www.vaccineindia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=200&Itemid=181
Not all mercury is created equally and some forms pose a greater health risk than others. For example mercury vapour is extremely dangerous whereas amalgam, used in dental fillings, has not been shown to pose a health risk.
Mercury becomes harmful only after it reaches a certain level in the body. The toxicity depends on the amount of mercury consumed in relation to body weight and can accumulate over a period of time. Infants are therefore at greater risk than adults because they are smaller.
When thiomersal-containing vaccines are in the childhood vaccination schedule, the maximum number of doses of thiomersal-containing vaccines a 6 month old child might have received was as follows:
<LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: list .5in">3 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, <LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; tab-stops: list .5in">3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine, and
3 doses of Hib vaccine.
This would have resulted in a total intake of 175 µg of ethylmercury, which is equivalent to about 1.9 µg/kg body weight per week, for an average-sized baby. This level is well below the World Health Organization (WHO) limit for methylmercury. Studies measuring mercury levels in the blood of infants given thiomersal-containing vaccines have indicated that their blood concentrations of mercury did not rise above designated levels, except possibly transiently in a premature infant less than 1kg in weight.
I want to send the great team at the above site some studies which show that ethyl mercury and methy mercury are very different in toxicity and half-life period. But that's OT.
I am not able to find credible articles that say that thimerosal is still used in vaccines in countries like India. Does anyone else have more info? All I can find is such blogs or similar entries.