The vaccine controversy was first recognized in the late 1980's when autism cases began escalating at a terrifying rate. Further investigation of the matter revealed the common denominator as thimerosal, a preservative (49.6% mercury by weight) used as an antibacterial agent in multi-dose vials of vaccines.
Recommending a schedule of over 30 vaccine doses before the age of two, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) play a dangerous game of Russian roulette with the world's children. Common vaccines such as diphtheria-tetanus-whole-cell-pertussis (DTP), hepatitis b (Hep b), and diphtheria-tetanus-acellular- pertussis (DTaP) all contained thimerosal until at least 1999 and were repeatedly administered, exposing children to dangerous levels of mercury.
Comprised of liars, thieves, and most of all, cowards, the American government has failed its people in every sense of the word by maliciously dismissing scientific evidence of thimerosal's toxicity and allowing the youngest, most defenseless portion of society to fall victim to political warfare.
Developed in 1929 by Eli Lilly & Co. thimerosal, or ethylmercury, was used to kill bacteria and fungus that breed when vaccine vials are penetrated more than once, hence multi-dose vials.
Another major drug manufacturer, Pittman-Moore, tested the preservative in 1935 on dogs and declared thimerosal as "unsatisfactory as a serum intended for use on dogs" (Kennedy, 2005, The Story).
Although one would think such findings warranted further investigation, it would take decades before the FDA even began to question thimerosal's risks. When evidence of toxicity did begin to surface, officials ignored the facts and became even more vigilant, as admitting guilt would leave members open to paralyzing repercussions- both legal and financial.
Though thimerosal continued to be studied and found hazardous, government officials did little to protect the public and actually aided in society's demise by supplying developing countries with thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCV's) after they had been banned from American vaccines, an action that would soon prove perilous, as the autism epidemic would no longer be confined to the United States.
Once thought of as an "American disease", autism was considered rare and affected approximately 1 in every 10,000 children, as compared to 1 in every 166 children today (The Autism Autoimmunity Project, 2005). The disorder was first diagnosed in 1943 amid 11 children born in the months following thimerosal's debut and is best described as a brain disorder that affects the development of social and communication skills, leaving those affected with little chance for a normal life.
Specific characteristics of autism include the inability to make eye contact, unexplained changes in mood, delayed speech, repetitive behavior, and incapability to tolerate changes in light, sound, and overall environment; which, Bernard et al. recently studied and concluded they "... have shown that every major characteristic of autism has been exhibited in at least several cases of documented mercury poisoning" (Generation Rescue, 2005, Discussion).
The exact cause of autism has yet to be found, but after watching history unfold, some believe they know why autism rates have shown such drastic increases.
One could argue the current epidemic is nothing more than a case of better diagnosing on doctors' parts and better recognition by the public. At first glance, such possibilities seem reasonable. Nevertheless, as said by one of the world's authorities on mercury poisoning, Dr. Boyd Haley, "If the epidemic is truly an artifact of poor diagnosis, then where are all the twenty-one-year-old autistics (Kennedy, 2005, The Story)?"
The statistics show the explosion is restricted to a single generation of children, so to say poor diagnosis in the past is to blame could not justify such an occurrence.
Another proposed theory is autism is caused by mercury, but since Americans have been exposed to mercury from contaminated fish, coal-burning power plants, and dental fillings, the TCV's may not be solely responsible for the amplified autism rates.
This theory is more rational, but mercury poisoning from these sources has been documented as far back as the 1800's, while "autism" was only recognized in the 1940's. This alone should have raised some concern about its safety, but regrettably, it was overlooked and dismissed as yet another coincidence.
What cannot be ignored, on the other hand, are the actual instances where American drug companies like Merck and Glaxo-Smith-Kline began marketing TCV's to developing countries and resulted in a sudden boom of autism reports, such as those reported in Indonesia, India, and Argentina.
Author Evelyn Pringle describes one shocking example of such an occurrence:
... A good example is China, ... On August 11, 2004, the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reported that children suffering with autism in that country had suddenly skyrocketed. In a few short years, the number of reported cases jumped from nearly nothing to some 1.8 million children in 2004. (Generation Rescue, 2005, Fact # 16)
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