Medical Sentinel --- the Official, peer-reviewed, bimonthly journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) > >The March/April 2000 issue of the Medical Sentinel is a special >symposium on vaccines, infectious diseases, and immunization policy. The >articles run the gamut from praising the historic role vaccines played >in the realm of public health in combating dreaded and pestilential >diseases to questioning present day vaccine policy. Compelling >statistics with supporting graphs are presented to document disturbing >facts and opinions expressed by the authors. > >Historically, improving standard of living brought about by the >Industrial Revolution during the 19th century; better understanding of >the role played by general cleanliness; and physicians educating their >patients as to better hygiene and sanitation, as a result of the >scientific revolution (i.e., germ theory of disease) ? all played a >significant role in controlling infectious diseases and expanding >lifespan. Prompt diagnosis and treatment by independent, private >practitioners with the use of effective antibiotics may have played an >equal, and in some cases, greater role than vaccination during this past >century. > >Dr. Harold E. Buttram questions whether the recent rise in autism and >neurobehavioral disorders in children may be related to an autoimmune >disorder brought about by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. >He points out that "viruses are highly susceptible to the process of >?jumping genes,¹ in which they may incorporate genetic material from >tissue in which they are cultured." Moreover, in the case of the measles >portion of the vaccine, the process "may be further affected by the fact >that protein sequences in the measles virus have been found to be >similar to those in brain tissues." > >Likewise, Dr. Franklin E. Payne questions whether or not vaccines >actually cause more harm than good in the case of hepatitis B vaccine in >children. Hepatitis B has a predilection for health care workers (and >all those who come in contact with infected blood), IV-drug abusers, and >the "sexually promiscuous," categories in which children are not found. >He also recalls the swine flu immunization "debacle" in the 1970s, when >hundreds of people developed "crippling diseases from the immunization >itself." > >In a commentary, Dr. Hilton P. Terrell questions the absurdity of using >thimerosal, a compound that contains mercury, a toxic substance, as a >preservative in the hepatitis B vaccine, the same vaccine given children >to protect them from a disease in which they are not at risk. > >Dr. Miguel A. Faria, Jr. recounts the history of vaccinations from >ancient times to the present, reviews the scientific evidence for >vaccines, and considers present mandatory immunization policy. After >reviewing both sides of the vaccine issue, balancing the benefit versus >risk equation, he comes down on the side of those who propose that >individuals and informed parents have a right to make their own >decisions (and those of their children) in consultation with their own >private physician and within the context of the patient-doctor >relationship. > >For further information or for arranging interviews with the authors, >call Helen at 1-912-757-9873 and visit our web site at >www.haciendapub.com. >