Adhd is the term used in the diagnostic and statistical manual dsmiv. Thimerosal is added to vials of vaccine that contain more than one dose multidose vials to prevent growth of germs, like bacteria and fungi. Some people have worried that thimerosal, an ethylmercurycontaining preservative in some multidose preparations of influenza vaccine, could cause mercury poisoning either in children or affect the unborn children of pregnant women who receive this vaccine. Wilson in his classic book, the hazards of immunization.
A new book about the safety of thimerosal in vaccines attempts to. Ethylmercury is an organomercurial that must be carefully. Flu vaccines in multidose vials contain thimerosal to safeguard against contamination of the vial. There are two different compounds that contain mercury. Thimerosal in vaccines thimerosal concerns vaccine. In 1999 as noted in the book the use of thimerosal was to be reduced or eliminated asap by various organizations.
Chapter 6 mounting evidence of thimerosals danger in human studies 69. Thimerosal is a mercurycontaining organic compound an organomercurial. The book is pro vaccines, but against using the mercury preservative thimerosal. Sensitization to thimerosal is associated with routine vaccination and this. The ingredient is still used in some flu vaccines, which kennedy and. According to the who, mercury is considered to be one of the ten most dangerous chemicals. Thimerosal is a compound that has been widely used as a preservative in a number of biological and drug products.
Another study discounts autismthimerosal link something seems to have shifted in the world of autism. The kennedyhyman report on thimerosal was a draft of the book they. Thimerosal has been shown to be safe when used in vaccines. When thimerosal enters the body, it breaks down to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate, which are readily eliminated. Since the 1930s, it has been widely used as a preservative in a number of biological and drug products, including many vaccines, to help prevent potentially life threatening contamination with harmful microbes. Thimerosal in vaccines thimerosal concerns vaccine safety cdc.
But, for many reasons, thimerosal contained in vaccines is not harmful. Vaccine ingredients thimerosal childrens hospital of philadelphia. For example, recently in the connection with the formulation of 2009 h1n1 influenza vaccines. Unfortunately, this book cant be printed from the openbook. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. The most notable exception to this is the seasonal influenza flu vaccine. An image claiming vaccines contain mercury and implying they arent safe has been shared on facebook thiomersal is a mercurybased chemical no longer found in most standard uk vaccines. Understanding thimerosal, mercury, and vaccine safety cdc. It is metabolizeddegraded to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. Antivaccination activists promoting the incorrect claim that vaccination causes autism have asserted that the mercury in thiomersal is the cause. Chapter 4 the comparable dangers of ethylmercury and methylmercury 45.
Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury, and is therefore less likely to cause any harm. Some worry the ethyalmercury is harmful, but studies show its not. All vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger in the. A preservative called thimerosal has been used in some vaccines since the 1940s. The checkup another study discounts autismthimerosal link. A number of affluent countries are moving to eliminate thiomersal thimerosal, an ethylmercury preservative, from vaccines as a precautionary measure because of concerns about the potential adverse effects of mercury in infants. Irrefutable, undeniable proof that mercury is still used in vaccines injected into children.
The evidence supporting the immediate removal of mercury a known neurotoxin from vaccines audible audio. The evidence supporting the immediate removal of mercury. Thimerosal in vaccines some people are concerned about the use of thimerosal, a mercurycontaining preservative, in vaccines. A single thimerosalpreserved flu vaccine contains 25 micrograms of ethylmercury. In all other recommended childhood vaccines, no thimerosal is present, or the amount of thimerosal is close to zero. The use of mercurycontaining preservatives in vaccines has declined markedly since 1999. For two childhood vaccines, thimerosal is used to prevent the growth of microbes during the manufacturing process. Thimerosal prevents the growth of bacteria in vaccines. Thimerosal is an organomercurial compound and derivative of thiosalicyclic acid with antibacterial and antifungal properties l1672. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a pdf. Bob, publishes a book that lays out a new schedule for parents who want to delay or spread out the vaccines they give their kids. Thimerosal and vaccines a cautionary tale request pdf. Vaccine safety frequently asked questions about thimerosal ethylmercury there are two, very different, types of mercury which people should know about.
The data regarding the toxicity of low doses of thimerosal and ethylmercury are very. Today, except for some flu vaccines in multidose vials, no recommended childhood vaccines contain thimerosal as a preservative. Mercury is dangerous in elemental form metal, as well as in inorganic mercury chloride and in organic methylmercury compounds. There was a time when a study finding no link between the mercurybased preservative thimerosal used in the mmr, or measlesmumpsrubella, vaccine and autism would have raised an uproar from activists who insist such a link exists. It is metabolized or degraded to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate. The former, by luciana zimmermann and colleagues, showed in 20 that the methyl and ethylmercury entered cultured rat cells in roughly equal measure and display similar toxicities. Deliberating over kennedys thimerosal book discover magazine.
Thimerosal is an ethyl mercury based preservative used in vials that contain more than one dose of a vaccine multidose vials to prevent germs, bacteria andor fungi from contaminating the vaccine. In 1999 as noted in the book the use of thimerosal was to be reduced or. However, no such guidelines existed for ethylmercury, the form used in. Jan 30, 2008 ethyl mercury from the vaccine preservative thimerosal leaves the blood 10 times faster than methyl mercury, on which current risk assessments are based only trace levels of. It was present in the swine flu vaccine used in the 200910 and 201011 flu seasons in the uk, but its not in any of the annual flu vaccines currently being used in the uk. The use of thimerosal as a preservative in vaccines has declined due to. That said, there is a larger body of science on thimerosalethylmercurysuch as. A timeline of the thimerosal controversy mother jones. Sensitization to thimerosal is associated with routine vaccination and this sensitization is lifelong.
Thimerosal, which consists of approximately 50% mercury by weight, has been one of the most widely used preservatives in vaccines. Food and drug administration is the chief federal government agency responsible for regulating vaccines in the u. Mercury in general may be a neurotoxin, but its in its methylmercury form that it does its damageand only in particular concentrations. Thimerosal has trace amounts of ethylmercury a type of mercury and is. A mercurycontaining preservative used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s.
Thiomersal or thimerosal is a mercury compound used as a preservative used in some vaccines. Thimerosal generates ethylmercury in aqueous solution and is widely used as preservative. The mercurybased chemical found in some uk vaccines is. A brief history of thimerosal and the dangers of mercury the increase in thimerosalcontaining childrens vaccines coincided with a rise in neurodevelopmental disorders despite reduction in thimerosal in us childhood vaccines, potential exposure remains high the comparable dangers of ethylmercury and methylmercury a wide range of animal. Understanding thimerosal, mercury, and vaccine safety. Chapter 5 a wide range of animal studies show thimerosals toxicity 63.
Does the mercurybased preservative called thimerosal in seasonal influenza vaccines cause neurodevelopmental disorders in children. The focus of his talk will be on the mercurybased preservative thimerosal, which is 49. Environmental protection agencys guidelines for methylmercury, a known neurotoxicant. During the previous decade, as more vaccines were added to the infant vaccination schedule, some of which contained thimerosal, infants were exposed to greater quantities of ethylmercury. Ethylmercury ethg is derived from the metabolism of thimerosal ocarboxyphenylthioethylsodium salt, which is the most widely used form of organic mercury. Preservatives are not required for singledose vials. American academy of pediatricians aap, united states public health service usphs, centre for disease control cdc, food and drug.
The who advocates continued use of thiomersalcontaining vaccines in developing countries because of their effectiveness, safety, low cost, wide. Vaccine safety frequently asked questions about thimerosal. The idea that thiomersal in vaccines might have detrimental effects originated with anti. The comparable dangers of ethylmercury and methylmercury. Thimerosalderived ethylmercury is a mitochondrial toxin. Robert sears, the popular pediatrician known as dr. The book s case against thimerosal, which often reads like a legal brief, points to evidence suggesting that the ethylmercury in the preservative may be just as toxic as methylmercury. Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used in some vaccines since the 1930s, when it was first introduced by eli lilly company. If the epa rfd for ingested methylmercury is applied to this injected ethylmercury figure, an individual would have to weigh more than 250 kilograms 551 pounds for the 25 microgram exposure to be considered safe. We find that ethylmercury not only inhibits mitochondrial respiration leading to a drop in the steady state membrane potential, but. The low levels of ethylmercury in vaccines are broken. Thimerosal is added at the end of the production process to prevent contamination of multidose vials after they are opened. Thimerosal use in medical products has a record of being very safe.
Detailed plot to carry out mass shootings and interrupt live video streams with torture scenes of female vaccine truthers 01242018 mike adams. No harmful effects were reported from thimerosal at doses used in vaccines, except for minor local reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site. Since the 1930s, vaccines have contained thimerosal, a mercurybased preservative that breaks down to ethylmercury and thiosalicylate in the body. By some calculations, children given the usual schedule of vaccines containing thimerosal receive ethylmercury in doses exceeding the u. It keeps vaccines from becoming contaminated, which may cause severe reactions, serious illness, or death. Let the science speak, is a summary of these studies, which cdc and its credulous journalists swear dont exist. But thimerosal was removed from most vaccines in 2001, and it has since been shown to have no adverse health effects. Mercury is a naturally occurring element found in the earths crust, air, soil, and water. American academy of pediatricians aap, united states public health service usphs, centre for disease control cdc, food and drug administration fda, and the national institute of health nih. Thimerosal, which contains 49% ethylmercury, has been used as a preservative in vaccines since the 1930s. According to the who, mercury is especially dangerous for intrauterine fetal development and infants in early stages of life.
Even though most of the vaccines routinely administered to infants in the united states no longer contain more than trace amounts of ethyl mercury in the form of thimerosal, the entire vaccine supply is not thimerosalfree. Because of its application as a vaccine preservative, almost every human and animal domestic and farmed that has been immunized with thimerosalcontaining vaccines has been exposed. Ethyl mercury thimerosal archives childrens health. Vaccine ingredients thimerosal childrens hospital of. Thimerosalcontaining vaccines and neurodevelopmental. Thimerosal is a preservative that has been used in some vaccines since. Thimerosal is added at the end of the production process to prevent contamination of. Environmental methyl mercury has been shown to be highly neurotoxic, especially to the developing brain. To help shed some fears about immunizations, read up on the latest information. New kennedy book calls for thimerosalfree vaccines medscape.
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