Read this keeping in mind vaccines are made out of most of the things people become allergic to. Latex is in the stopper of the vaccine. Egg is used to grow the vaccine. Peanut oil, has been said was used in the manufacturing of the vaccine ect....
Soaring allergy rate is overwhelming NHS, doctors warn
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=419062
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
26 June 2003Britain has the highest rate of allergy in Europe and the numbers affected are continuing to grow, outstripping the capacity of the NHS to care for them, specialists said yesterday.
Allergic reactions to substances including fruit, nuts, medical drugs and latex, which were once rare, are becoming common. Familiar allergies such as asthma and hay fever are growing. One in three of the population - equivalent to 18 million people - was affected by an allergy during his or her lifetime, ranging from the trivial to the serious, the Royal College of Physicians said.
A report by the college published yesterday warns of an alarming increase in serious allergies that can provoke life-threatening reactions. The commonest causes are foods such as peanuts and egg, bee and wasp stings, medical drugs and latex rubber.
Hospital admissions for serious anaphylaxis, a sudden and severe allergic reaction that leads to shock and collapse, have increased sevenfold in the past decade. Multiple allergies, in which sufferers react to a range of substances, have also increased.
Pamela Ewan, a consultant allergy specialist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and an author of the report, said: "This is not an increase in perception [of disease], it is a real increase. There is good data showing a doubling or trebling of allergic diseases over the last 10 to 20 years."
The causes of the increase are thought to be environmental changes acting on a genetic pre-disposition to allergy, which puts the British, with the New Zealand and Australian populations, as the most allergy-prone people in the world.
Cleaner homes and smaller families mean children are less exposed to bacteria and infections that help to educate their developing immune systems to identify and deal with invaders threats. They then over-react to substances that mimic the threat - proteins on pollen grains, house dust mites, cat and dog hairs - which trigger allergic reactions.
This theory, known as the hygiene hypothesis, was first advanced a decade ago and has been confirmed by many studies since. These have shown that children raised on farms with livestock have a third fewer allergies than those who are not. A second factor is thought to be the role of diet in pregnant women and infants. Those who consume low levels of antioxidants - fruit and vegetables - and high levels of fats and proteins are thought to be more allergy prone.
Stephen Holgate, professor of immunopharmacology at Southampton University, said different countries had different problems. In New Zealand, dust-mite allergy had been caused by the practice of laying new-born infants on sheepskins, which were breeding grounds for mites. But dust-mite allergy was almost unknown in Norway and Finland where the chief problem was pollen from birch trees.
"Taking an allergen away does not necessarily solve the problem. A new one steps in to take its place," he said. The report calls for a big increase in the provision of allergy services in Britain. There are six main centres run by allergy specialists offering a full-time service and nine offering a part-time service. There are 90 clinics run by specialists in other disciplines who practise allergy medicine part time.
Dr Ewan said the inadequacy of the specialist service, which does not extend west of Bournemouth or north of Liverpool, was shown by the case of a man who suffered episodes in which his tongue swelled, culminating in a cardiac arrest. He was referred by his GP to a specialist allergy clinic but had to wait six months for an appointment before he was diagnosed with an allergy to a drug that was easy for him to avoid.
"He almost died ... It is extreme postcode medicine," Dr Ewan said.
She cited a second case of a 46-year-old man with hay fever who was unable to sleep or work in the pollen season. His GP gave him steroid injections twice a year to control symptoms, but over 14 years they caused his hip joints to crumble. He now has arthritis and is awaiting a double hip replacement. "He was referred to an allergy specialist - but 14 years too late," Dr Ewan said.
Common allergens
Fruit
The growth of allergic reactions to fruit and vegetables is one of the most striking indications of a changing immune system. The cause is thought to be birch pollen the second most common cause of hay fever. Birch pollen shares proteins with fruit and vegetables, and allergies to the pollen are extending to include the food.
Drugs
Serious reactions to drugs have increased sharply, with antibiotics, especially penicillin, aspirin, ibuprofen and other painkillers among the most likely to produce problems. These are distinct from side-effects that do not involve the immune system.
Latex
Allergy to latex rubber was almost unknown before 1980, with only two cases described in medical literature, but 8 per cent of health workers are now affected by it. The cause is the growth in the use of latex, driven by fear of Aids in the 1980s and the need for tighter controls on spread of infection.
Nuts
Peanut allergy has trebled in the past four years but was rare before 1990. One in 70 children is currently affected amounting to 160,000 and it is the most common food to cause fatal or near-fatal reactions. Fish, shellfish, egg and milk can also trigger anaphylactic shock. Hospital admissions for food allergy have increased fivefold in 10 years.
document.write( getDateString() );25 June 2003 22:56
Anaphylactic children - canaries in the public health mine shaft?
Are vaccines responsible for the epidemic of anaphylaxis in young children today?
http://www.vran.org/vaccines/anaphylaxis/ana-vac.htm
by Rita Hoffman
In the presentation speech as winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with anaphylaxis, Charles Robert Richet said, "We are so constituted that we can never receive other proteins into the blood than those that have been modified by digestive juices. Every time alien protein penetrates by effraction, the organism suffers and becomes resistant. This resistance lies in increased sensitivity, a sort of revolt against the second parenteral injection which would be fatal. At the first injection, the organism was taken by surprise and did not resist. At the second injection, the organism mans its defences and answers by the anaphylactic shock." In naming "anaphylaxis", Richet described, "Phylaxis, a word seldom used, stands in the Greek for protection. Anaphylaxis will thus stand for the opposite. Anaphylaxis, from its Greek etymological source, therefore means that state of an organism in which it is rendered hypersensitive, instead of being protected." Richet concluded his lecture by saying, "Seen in these terms, anaphylaxis is a universal defense mechanism against the penetration of heterogenous substances in the blood, whence they can not be eliminated." (1)
Vaccine antigens injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly prompt the immune system to create antibodies in the blood against those antigens. Has medicine, which has used vaccinations containing "alien proteins" as its cornerstone to control infectious diseases, been on the wrong track by injecting heterogenous substances [originating in an outside source; especially: derived from another species] (2) into human beings to "control" disease? What would be the general state of health today if 200 years ago medicine had taken the path of discovering the keys to promoting a strong, unadulterated immune system in conjunction with increased nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplementation along with better sanitation? Has medicine produced false protection by injecting alien proteins via vaccination which, as Richet pointed out in his lecture, can render us hypersensitive instead of being protected?
This hypersensitive state called anaphylaxis is now epidemic in young children who live every day of their life under threat of death from everyday, normally harmless substances. The numbers are staggering. According to Health Canada's web site, "It is estimated that 600,000 Canadians (two percent of the population) may be affected by life-threatening allergies, and the numbers are increasing, especially among children." (3) In 2005 Ontario passed a law to protect anaphylactic students at school while The Toronto Star reported an estimated 40,000 children in Ontario with anaphylaxis. (4)
The recent deaths of three Canadian teenagers exposed to minute quantities of allergen have caused a world wide media explosion of anaphylaxis stories. Everyone is asking - why do we have so many kids with peanut allergies? Why have schools banned peanut butter sandwiches? Why are kids dying? Charles Robert Richet knew that foreign proteins penetrating the body could cause anaphylaxis back in 1913. Some doctors, allergists and anaphylaxis organizations blame skin creams containing peanut oil and North America's roasting of peanuts for the epidemic of anaphylaxis. And perhaps weary of saying that increased consumption of peanuts is the cause of the increase in peanut allergy some are mentioning the "hygiene hypothesis" as a cause. A few are even mentioning the "v" word. Dr. Bruce Edwards was quoted in a February 21, 2006 Newsday article regarding the hygiene hypothesis. "The theory is that because U.S. children 'use antibacterial soap, get antibiotics at the first sign of a runny nose and are vaccinated for every potential thing out there,' their immune systems do not spend time producing anti-infectious responses to all the diseases they will never get. Instead, their immune systems may be 'shunting their responses to produce things [anti-infectious responses] which are more allergic in nature.'"
In a May 18, 2005 CNN article, in an attempt to explain the peanut allergy epidemic, Dr. Robert Woods of Johns Hopkins University stated, "The more your immune system is kept busy by exposure to germs and infections early in life, the less time it can devote to things like allergy." Anne Munoz-Furlong, CEO and founder of U.S. based The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) in the same article says "Perhaps our homes are too clean - we've done too much to take away the job of the immune system. We don't have parasites, a lot of the childhood diseases you vaccinate and don't have, so maybe for some people, the immune system is looking for something to do and decides, 'Aha, I don't like milk' or 'I don't like peanuts,' and the body then attacks the food protein as if it were an enemy invader." Somehow I think our God given immune systems are smarter than that - that is, if left to do the job without any interference!
Anaphylaxis is not the only allergic disease on the rise. On March 31, 2006 Reuters reported that "Allergies such as hay fever are reaching epidemic proportions in Europe and a failure to treat them properly is creating a mounting bill for society and the healthcare system...Around one third of the European population has some kind of allergy, while one in two children in Britain will have allergies by 2015, costing millions of euros in medical bills, lost work days and even impaired concentration in school pupils." The article goes on to describe, "Allergies were most prevalent in Britain and Ireland, as well as other English speaking countries like Canada, Australia and the United States, Burney said, adding they were also becoming more widespread in new European Union member states." On May 5, 2005 The Toronto Star devoted an entire section to allergies and asthma. An article about eczema states, "In Canada, this incurable skin condition that causes dryness, crusting and thickening afflicts between 2 million and 5 million people. Experts report its incidence has tripled since 1970."
In 2002, prominent Canadian allergist Dr. Peter Vadas went as far to say, in a television show on severe allergies, "There are factors to do with how we vaccinate our kids very early on in life, how much drugs, antibiotics we give the kids early on in life all of which tend to predispose more towards allergy." But when asked, "Do you think early vaccination is not a good thing?" he replied, "No, I think it's a wonderful thing. It's an absolutely crucial thing from the standpoint of public health to minimize the likelihood of severe infections, but on the other hand one of the spin offs is that there are a certain proportion of the population that are going to be more prone to developing allergies as a consequence of that.” (5)
In a February 20, 2006 Globe and Mail article entitled "Is clean living making us sick? Hygiene hypothesis on food allergies", Dr. Vadas followed a "party line", eliminating the "v" word. The "party line" to explain this, he said "holds that consumption of peanuts and the peanut protein has increased in Western societies. As a result, the more exposure to peanuts, the more people will be found to be allergic to them." It sounds like a "party line" to protect the vaccine status quo. This does nothing to explain the explosion of other unusual anaphylactic allergies in children to foods like kiwi, sesame, soybean and tree nuts. Parents should be receiving information regarding all of the potential risks and benefits of vaccines to make an informed decision about vaccinating their children. I was never told that one of the potential "spin offs" of my child being vaccinated would be that he would live every day of his life under threat of death!
If increased consumption of peanut is the cause of peanut anaphylaxis, then why don't the Chinese and Indonesians, who consume large quantities of peanut, have the peanut anaphylaxis problems of the western industrialized nations? (6, 7) China and Indonesia do not routinely vaccinate for Hib (Haemophilus influenza type B), (8, 9, 10, 11) Sweden is a country where 99% of the target population was vaccinated for Hib in 2001. (12) Sweden also has low peanut consumption, yet this low consumption has not prevented peanut allergy in that country. Van Odijk et al concluded that "the reaction pattern to peanuts in Sweden is similar to that in many other countries despite a reported steady and low consumption." (13) It appears that countries that introduced Hib vaccination in their infant schedules have high rates of peanut allergy regardless of consumption.
Children can react to peanut allergens on their first exposure. (14) Sensitization to peanut can occur during breastfeeding. (15) Yet sensitization through breast milk cannot possibly explain the increase in peanut anaphylaxis as mothers worldwide have been eating peanuts while breastfeeding for decades. Zimmerman et al (1989) found in their study that "these results suggest that highly atopic infants are at special risk for sensitization to peanut, even when they have never received peanut....." (16) K.L. Capozza, Health Scout News, in an article entitled "Study Acquits Peanuts in Allergic Reaction" described a recent study by Turncanu et al who took three types of children, those with peanut allergies, those that "outgrew" their allergy and those who have no peanut allergy. Capozza describes how "after magnifying these immune cells, or T-cells, the researchers observed that the T-cells of allergic patients became excited after exposure to peanut. Once the T-cells react to the peanut extract, a cascade of allergic responses ensue, from a skin rash to labored breathing." He describes how "the research shows, the condition stems from a person's abnormal immune response." (17, 18)
What has happened to peanut allergic children to cause their T-cells, as Capozza described to become 'excited' to the extent that with some children just being in the same room with peanuts can cause a reaction? Could vaccines be the cause?
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Dr. Philip Incao aptly describes how vaccines affect the immune response in his article "How Vaccines Work." "So the trick of a vaccination is to stimulate the immune system just enough so that it makes antibodies and 'remembers' the disease antigen but not so much that it provokes an acute inflammatory response by the cellular immune system and makes us sick with the disease we’re trying to prevent! Thus a vaccination works by stimulating very much the antibody production (Th2) and by stimulating very little or not at all the digesting and discharging function of the cellular immune system (Th1). Vaccine antigens are designed to be 'unprovocative' or 'indigestible' for the cellular immune system (Th1) and highly stimulating for the antibody-mediated humoral immune system (Th2). Perhaps it is not difficult to see then why the repeated use of vaccinations would tend to shift the functional balance of the immune system toward the antibody-producing side (Th2) and away from the acute inflammatory discharging side (the cell-mediated side or Th1)." (19)
Atopic disorders are the cluster of 3 related disorders, allergies, asthma, and eczema with anaphylaxis being the most severe form of allergic reaction. Atopic disorders are pervasive and raise the alert that the immune system has been sensitized and has shifted away from its normal functioning TH1 mode into a chronically reactive TH2 mode.
Anaphylaxis to foods in young children seemed to be rare prior to the introduction of the first Hib polysaccharide vaccine in 1987 (Canada) to a schedule already containing vaccines for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio, measles, mumps and rubella. Beginning in 1992, many infants were given various Hib vaccines concurrently with DPT-P, and beginning in 1994 in a combined 5 in 1 vaccine called Penta. In 1997 the acellular pertussis 5 in 1 vaccine Pentacel was introduced. The cover story in the September 2000 issue of Professionally Speaking, the magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers was "An Abnormal Response to Normal Things." The article begins with "Teachers have to be aware that allergies can kill. A growing number of children are at risk - and a well prepared teacher can make all the difference." The article explains that "About a decade ago, the sudden surge in highly allergic children entering school systems across the province caught many educators off guard." Doesn't this "surge" correspond to the introduction of the Hib vaccine?
In Ontario, the Hepatitis B vaccination series is given in Grade 7, not at birth, so the Hepatitis B vaccine would not have an impact on the numbers of young children with peanut and nut anaphylaxis, yet it remains to be seen if this vaccine may be implicated in increased numbers of teenagers becoming anaphylactic.
Children in Ontario aged 18 and younger could have received up to five different types of Hib vaccines. The first Hib vaccine, introduced in 1987, was a one dose polysaccharide Hib vaccine for children age 2 and up. Infant immune systems did not mount an immune response to the polysaccharide vaccine, so vaccine researchers developed conjugate vaccines to "trick" the infant immune system into recognizing the Hib antibody.
Conjugate vaccines, according to a U.S. National Institute of Health website, link "a 'weak' polysaccharide to a protein easily recognized by the immature immune system." (20) The Hib conjugate vaccines results in "greatly enhanced antibody responses and establishment of immunological memory", and the four conjugate Hib vaccines given to children "differ in a number of ways, including the protein carrier, polysaccharide size and types of diluent and preservative. (21) Who’s to say that this 'protein easily recognized by the immature immune system' won't "trick" the infants body into thinking that food eaten at the same time as the vaccine is an invader worthy of a 'greatly enhanced antibody response'?
Although Hib vaccines have been credited as being a public health miracle, the road to the development and implementation of these vaccines seems to have been anything but smooth. The lack of knowledge about this vaccine's interactions with the immune system is frightening. Here are just a few examples:
One of the most shocking studies I came across was Nicol et al concluding in 2002, a decade after infants were given this vaccine, that 1/10th of the dose of Haemophilus influenzae type B conjugate vaccine (PRP-T) was as immunogenic and safe as the full dose. (22) Considering that the Hib vaccine results in "greatly enhanced antibody responses", does this mean that children have been receiving 10 times the amount of Hib vaccine that would be necessary to provide that antibody response, thus creating a hypersensitivity to proteins encountered during and after vaccination in children, especially children with a tendency toward allergy?
Also shocking was Pichichero (2000) in his paper on new combination vaccines, describes...."the protective threshold for conjugated PRP [Hib] vaccines is not known....." (23)
Pabst and Spady (1990) studied infants immunized at 2, 4, and 6 months with conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine. They found that "antibody levels were significantly higher in the breast-fed (57 infants) than in the formula-fed group (24 infants) at 7 months and at 12 months" and that breastfeeding "enhances the active immune response in the first year of life, and therefore the feeding method must be taken into account in the evaluation of vaccine studies in infants." (24) Many anaphylactic children were breastfed as infants, which would have boosted this immune response even more! Breast fed and bottle fed babies receive the same doses of vaccines, even though sixteen years ago the above authors found that feeding methods should be evaluated in vaccine studies! This study was later challenged in Scheifele et al's letter to The Lancet in 1992 in which they conclude that "It seems that the earlier conclusions were incorrect and that breastfeeding does not enhance responses to haemophilus b conjugate vaccines, at least when assessed on completion of the primary series.” (25) . The Hib vaccine that Pabst and Spady studied was the CRM 197 mutant diphtheria toxin conjugate vaccine. Scheifele's study used the PRP-T (tetanus conjugate) vaccine. If Dr. Scheifele was going to discount Pabst and Spady's results why didn't he use the same vaccine? Oh, well, full speed ahead! One shot must fit all, breastfed or not! We must maintain the status quo!
Numerous studies have sounded warnings regarding combination or concurrently administered vaccines including Hib. Here are just three examples:
Even as late as May 2000, Rennels et al concluded that "In this trial concurrent IPV [inactivated polio vaccine] appeared to interfere with the anti-PRP [Hib] response to DTaP/Hib vaccine suggesting that introduction of new vaccines may require evaluation of immune responses to all concurrently administered vaccines." (26)
The 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting report on New Combination Vaccines for Childhood Diseases raised red flags about combination vaccines, saying "However, the reactogenicity and potential side effects of the combined antigens have not yet been determined. Since there is the potential for physical and chemical interaction among the vaccine components and the buffers and preservatives, the immunogenicity of each component needs to be addressed to determine whether these are similar to and as effective as the components given individually." (27)
Redhead K et al (1994) in a very frightening study, state: "However, combination with the Hib vaccine comprising polysaccharide conjugated to tetanus toxoid had dramatic effects on tetanus potency and immunogenicity when assayed in mice. This combination resulted in a five-fold potentiation of the tetanus potency and a similarly large increase in the antibody responses to tetanus toxin and toxoid. The level of the antibody response to the Hib polysaccharide in this vaccine was also elevated, more than 20-fold, as a result of the combination." (28)
Shouldn't these studies be raising red flags? Antibody responses to Hib elevated more than 20 fold? Reactogenicity and potential side effects of combined antigens not yet determined? I haven't seen any studies that look at the IgE (allergy) levels post vaccination. Surely it's not much of a stretch to think that infant’s immune systems might be hypersensitive after receiving these vaccines!
Now let's look at what vaccines could be cross reacting with peanut. When researchers study allergies and cross reactive proteins they determine the various molecular weights of the allergen. Foods with the same molecular weight can cause cross reactions in allergic persons. And it's not just foods cross reacting. In a January 22, 2002 news release, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology provided a list of the most common foods that are cross reactive to latex including banana, avocado, chestnut, kiwi and celery. They describe, "The immune system recognizes the 'cross-reactive' protein, symptoms manifest and an adverse reaction occurs. An active immune system may not distinguish the difference between the similar looking proteins, so an allergy to one member of the food family may result in the person being allergic to all the members of the same group."
I have often wondered why vaccines with latex stoppers have not been considered as a potential cause of the tremendous rise in latex allergy among highly vaccinated health care workers. Primeau et al (2001) found that "Natural rubber vial closures released allergenic latex proteins into the tested solutions in direct contact during storage in sufficient quantities to elicit positive intradermal skin reactions in some individuals with LA. These data support a recommendation to eliminate natural rubber from closures of pharmaceutical vials." (29) There are many vaccines that have latex stoppers that may be sensitizing people. Health Canada does not have a list, but the state of Massachusetts provides information regarding which vaccines contain latex or thimerosal (30)
If people with latex allergy can have cross reactions with foods, then one must ask if vaccine ingredients can cause cross reaction with foods having the same molecular weight?
Using PubMed I looked for molecular weights of ingredients in infant vaccines and some of the most common allergenic foods in small children. Measured in kilodaltons (kDa), the most striking molecular weight that could cross react is 50 kDa contained in the following: Hib, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Neisseria Meningitidis, peanut, almond, soybean and cashew. The molecular weight 43 kDa is present in both Hib and peanut. 20 kDa is present in both Hib and peanut. 37 kDa is present in both Hib and Almond. 49 kDa is present in Hib and Mango.
COMPARISON TABLE Molecular weight of proteins in vaccines Molecular weights of food proteins triggering reactions
COMPARISON TABLE Molecular weight of proteins in vaccines Molecular weights of food proteins triggering reactions Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
50, 49, 43, 37, 20, 16, kDa Peanut
50, 43, 20, 16 kDa
Diphtheria - 50, 27 kDa
(also used as carrier protein in some Hib vaccines) Almond
50, 37 kDa Soybean
50,16.5 kDa Tetanus - 50 kDa
(also used as carrier protein in some Hib vaccines) Cashew
50 kDa
Neisseria meningitidis - 50 kDa
(also used as carrier protein in some Hib vaccines) Mango
49 kDa References:
Hib (31 - 39)
Diphtheria (40 - 41)
Tetanus (42 - 45)
Neisseria meningitides (46)
Peanut (47 - 50)
Almond (51 - 53)
Soybean (47)
Cashew (54)
Mango (55)
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So the first vaccines my child received, DPT-P + Hib contained Diphtheria (50 kDa), Tetanus (50 kDa), Pertussis, Polio, Mutant Diphtheria carrier protein in the Hibtitre vaccine (50 kDa) plus Hib (50 kDa). Is there any wonder, when my son encountered peanut (50 kDa), Almond (50 kda) and Cashew (50 kDa) via breastmilk while his body's immune system was processing the vaccines, that his body went on extreme high alert for anything with a 50 kDa molecular weight? Granoff and Munson (1986) describe when conjugate vaccines are prepared, "new antigenic determinants are formed.....but their presence raises the possibility that these neoantigens may elicit antibodies cross-reactive with human antigens." (31)
Cross reactive proteins can be very dangerous for people with allergies. I know a young girl who had vomited after eating cashews as a toddler and was never given nuts after that time. Not long after her school age boosters of DTaP-Polio and MMR she was given a piece of mango and had to be rushed to the hospital. It was only after some investigating that the parents realized that mango and cashew can cross react. This girl's mother happens to love mango, and while she would not bring the fruit into her home she decided it was safe to eat some at her workplace for lunch, afterward carefully washing her hands. Upon arriving home several hours later, the mother kissed the little girl on the cheek. Swelling and hives ensued, and even with anti-histamines it was days before the child's reaction subsided. From a kiss on the cheek! Another child with a nut allergy had an anaphylactic reaction to a fruit juice containing mango, again the parents being unaware of the cashew/mango cross reaction. These bizarre immune responses put children at risk of dying every day.
Stories like these aren't too surprising once you look at the medical literature where the link between vaccination and anaphylaxis seems crystal clear in animal studies dating back as far as 1952. Saul Malkiel, Betty J. Hargis and Leon S. Kind completed numerous studies where vaccinated animals became anaphylactic, many funded in part by the National Institute of Health. Imagine reading, from 1959, "We have repeatedly observed in experiments on mice that a consequence of the administration of Hemophilus pertussis phase I organisms given in conjunction with a protein antigen is the enhancement of anaphylactic sensitization to the foreign protein antigen." (56) And we have allergists telling us that skin creams cause anaphylaxis? And I was furious when I read Kind and Roesner (1959), "It is now well known that mice inoculated with Hemophilus pertussis vaccine develop enhanced sensitivity to lethal effects of histamine, serotonin, endotoxin, peptone and anaphylactic shock. The ensuing data will demonstrate that pertussis-inoculated mice can also be killed with doses of water soluble extract of pollen rye grass which are not lethal to uninoculated animals." (57) Kind and Richards (1964) in the Journal Nature, state "It is now well known that mice injected with Bordetella pertussis vaccine plus an antigen will produce more antibodies to that antigen than mice injected with antigen alone." (58) Couldn’t the same apply to babies?
And how do researchers make anaphylactic animal models? They vaccinate the animals! Countless studies show anaphylaxis being induced in animals by using toxins and adjuvants used in human vaccines. Here is one example from hundreds:
Helm et al in Environmental Health Perspectives article "Nonmurine Animal Models of Food Allergy" discuss ways to create animal models of human food allergy. (59) Animal models are discussed extensively, including "the use of adjuvants (natural or artificial--alum, cholera toxin, Bordetella pertussis, and carrageenan are known IgE-selective adjuvants)" in those animal models. They go on to describe, "In the atopic dog model for food allergy (Ermel et al. 1997), newborn pups (day 1) were subcutaneously injected in the axillas with 1 µg of cow's milk, beef, ragweed, and wheat extracts in alum. Food antigen was again administered on days 22, 29, 50, 78, and 85. At ages 3, 7, and 11 weeks, all pups were vaccinated with attenuated distemper-hepatitis vaccine...Immunized pups responded with allergen-specific IgE by week 3 and peaked at week 26 of age...All clinical manifestations are consistent with infant, adolescent, and adult food allergy in humans."
It has been shown repeatedly that vaccination can cause sensitization, including anaphylaxis, to vaccine ingredients. Nelson et al (2000) discuss a 4 month old baby's anaphylactic reaction to the CRM 197 protein in the Hib vaccine. (60) As far back as 1940 Cooke et al noted that "The real object of this presentation is to acquaint the medical profession with proof of the fact that sensitivity can be induced as a result of the present procedures of active immunization to tetanus." (61) Cooke et al also mentioned Neill et all (1929) noted hypersensitivity to diphtheria bacilli. (62)
Patrizi et al (1999) and Osawa et al (1991) noted allergic sensitization to thimerosal. (63, 64) Martin-Munoz et al described allergic sensitization to tetanus and diphtheria toxoids simultaneously. (65) Kumagai et al (2002) found "gelatin-specific cell-mediated immunity develops in subjects inoculated with gelatin containing DTaP vaccine" and that the specific cellular immune responses persisted for more than 3 years. (66) Sakaguchi et al (1996) concluded that "We reconfirmed a strong relationship between systemic immediate-type allergic reactions including anaphylaxis, to vaccines and the presence of specific IgE to gelatin." (67) Nakayama et al (1999) found that "DTaP vaccine may have a causal relationship to the development of this gelatin allergy." (68)
So, if the medical literature shows anaphylactic sensitization to vaccine ingredients, then is it much of a leap to think that protein fragments in those vaccines could be causing cross reactive sensitization with antigens with the same antigenic determinant?
A key piece of the hypersensitivity puzzle is the vaccine adjuvant aluminum according to New Zealand researcher and author Hilary Butler. Butler states that “Aluminium is put into vaccines, because without it, the body will not react to weak strains of antigens. Aluminium is highly reactive, and is a Th2 ‘skewer’. This is the whole reason why aluminum is added to vaccines. And Aluminium will ALWAYS create IGE, and if this happens in the presence of proteins from vaccines or food antigens in the body, then there is a high chance of allergy developing.” She points out the study by Yamanishi et al (2003) who immunized mice against Kunitz-type soybean trypsin inhibitor (KSTI) and concluded that...“we demonstrated that, regardless of the inability to adsorb KSTI, alum exerted its adjuvant activity only when it was co-injected with the antigen. These results showed that some biochemical effect, other than adsorptive activity, to enhance the production of the antigen-specific IgE resides in alum. (69) According to Butler, “this goes along with evidence I have elsewhere that highlights the observation that aluminum does not have to be absorbed onto the antigen in order for an immune response to be stimulated. Another thing is that aluminum produces mostly IgE antibodies (allergic antibodies).” Numerous studies have also shown that aluminum is linked to allergic responses. (70)
VRAN researcher Susan Fletcher notes the importance of digestion (which can be affected by antibiotic use) in the development of asthma and allergies. Vaccinations are routinely given to infants and children even though they may have been given antibiotics for a recent health issue, certainly affecting their immune response to the vaccine. Untersmayr et al (2006) found “for the first time the important gate-keeping function of gastric digestion, both in the sensitization and the effector phases of food allergy.” (71)
Charles Robert Richet described back in his Nobel Lecture in 1913, "all proteins, without exception produce anaphylaxis: one had seen this with all sera, milks, organic extracts whatsoever, all vegetable extracts, microbial protein toxins, yeast cells, dead microbial bodies. It would be of more interest now to find a protein which does not produce anaphylaxis than to find one that does."
He then chillingly states in his conclusion, "It does not matter much that the individual becomes more vulnerable in this regard. There is something more important than the salvation of the person and that is integral preservation of the race. In other words, to formulate the hypothesis in somewhat abstract terms but clear ones all the same: the life of the individual is less important than the stability of the species. Anaphylaxis, perhaps a sorry matter for the individual, is necessary to the species, often to the detriment of the individual. The individual may perish, it does not matter. The species must at any time keep its organic integrity intact. Anaphylaxis defends the species against the peril of adulteration." (1)
How can Richet have won the Nobel Prize in 1913 for this knowledge yet the medical community today seems to have no clue why our children are anaphylactic? Why has medicine, to which parents have entrusted their precious children, continued to vaccinate for more and more diseases, knowing that our "organic integrity" could be at stake? May I suggest that researchers or doctors can't see the forest for the trees, or there is one huge cover-up?
With hundreds of new vaccines in the pipeline, how much longer can we continue to inject more and more foreign proteins via vaccination into human beings without eventually creating a totally defenseless population? How many more children will become anaphylactic, be rushed to emergency fighting for their lives or die before something is done?
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Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Amy and John for their countless hours in the medical library, Cindy Stolten, Critical Decisions Count, Sandy Gottstein, www.vaccinationnews.com and especially to Edda West, www.vran.org for believing in "Martin's Story". A big thank you to Suzanne Brezovich, Ingri Cassel, Hilary Butler, Susan Fletcher and Edda West for input and editing. And to my dear little Martin, you are a brave soul. May our Creator continue to bless and protect you.
For further information, including medical journal articles showing a vaccine link to anaphylaxis, please visit VRAN's webpage at www.vran.org under the heading "Anaphylaxis".
Footnotes
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M. Carolyn Black, "The potential power of Bill 3 - Measure aims to protect estimated 40,000 Ontario students with a life-threatening allergy to such things as peanuts or insect stings" Toronto Star March 30, 2005
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We have become allergic to our western way of life
Complementary healthcare has a vital role to play in the 21st century
Prince Charles
Saturday February 28, 2004
The Guardian
http://society.guardian.co.uk/nhsperformance/comment/0,8146,1158271,00.html
It seems extraordinary to me that despite a recent poll indicating that 75% of people would like complementary medicine to be available to all on the NHS, there are still only a handful of clinics offering integrated healthcare for free. Indeed, 90% of complementary medicine is only available to those who can afford to pay for it.
Correcting this imbalance, between the services which are being provided and those which people want, need not mean huge additional expenditure. Complementary medicine emphasises preventative care and encourages individuals to undertake a greater degree of self-management.
Greater access to integrated healthcare would also help tackle some of the worst obstacles to creating a healthier population, one of the most notable being the increasing problem of allergies, which are at epidemic levels in the UK. As the Guardian made clear recently, Britain faces something of an allergy explosion, with predictions that half of us will suffer one by 2015.
There is accumulating evidence that the rise in allergies could be directly linked to the way in which we live and the environment which we inhabit. Sir Tom Blundell, chairman of the the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, argues that "given our understanding of the way chemicals interact with the environment, you could say we are running a gigantic experiment with humans and all other living things as the subject". The evidence so far appears disturbing: the thinning of seabirds' eggshells, sex changes in fish and shellfish, reduced human male fertility, and a rise in certain cancers linked to chemicals that have found their way into our environment and food chain.
A study by scientists at the University of Lancaster has shown that organophosphorus pesticides that were banned some 15-20 years ago are still detectable in the blood. The fact that flame retardants, pesticides and dioxins can cross from mother to infant in breast milk is also a cause for
concern.
Our disregard for the delicate web that sustains our environment is leading to its degradation. There are in excess of 30,000 chemicals in products that we use and dispose of which have never been tested. The application of modern computational techniques coupled with improved environmental and health monitoring would go a long way towards rectifying this situation.
A recent report from the Royal College of Physicians indicated that 18 million people in this country have an allergy, with a staggering 12 million suffering at any one time. Allergies are also increasing in severity and complexity. While asthma and hayfever have increased two- to threefold over 20 years, hospital admissions for anaphylaxis - a systemic form of allergy that can be fatal - have increased sevenfold over 10 years.
In the UK, 34% of 13- to 14-year-olds now have active asthma, the highest prevalence in the world. I am told that the high figures are most likely to be explained by lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, smoking in parents, exposure to chemicals, a lack of protective factors in early childhood (exposure to bacteria and other micro-organisms that boost immunity) and overuse of antibiotics.
Peanut allergy, the most common form of food allergy to cause fatal reactions, has trebled in incidence over four years. One in 70 children are now affected. Drug allergies and allergies at work are all on the increase too; 8% of nurses are now allergic to latex in rubber gloves yet, in 1979, only two cases had been described.
Clearly, something dramatic is happening. The rising trends in allergy seen in developing countries, as they adopt our western habits, point strongly to factors in the way we live. We spend up to 80% of our time indoors, and the sealing of our houses to conserve heat and energy, the increase in soft furnishings and the rising numbers of pets all increase the chance of those genetically at risk becoming sensitised to domestic allergens such as dust mites, moulds, cats and dogs. Similarly, at work, increasing allergies give rise to the "sick building" syndrome. But increased exposure to allergens cannot be the whole answer, because we are also becoming susceptible to outdoor aller gens such as pollens, and to certain foods, especially fish, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Children raised on livestock farms have only one third of the incidence of allergy when compared to their non-farming rural peers. In Africa and Asia, allergy is much higher in urban than in rural populations. It seems that exposure to higher levels of bacteria, viruses and fungi stimulates the
immune response away from allergy. A similar effect has been suggested for the beneficial effect of fresh farm produce in helping "good" bacteria live in the gut of young children. Clearly, there is a balance to be struck between exposure to infectious agents, thereby reducing allergy, and exposure causing serious infection. The recent concerns over "superbugs" in hospitals and the emergence of resistant tuberculosis are examples where micro-organisms have successfully got round our attempts to eliminate them.
Factors associated with western society, such as overeating, lack of exercise and an obsession with hygiene, as well as our exposure to a myriad of chemicals from products whose effects we are only just learning about, are conspiring to weaken our defence against the environment. Our children are paying the price.
So, what do we do? In the short-term, it is vital to recognise the importance of allergy and to improve its management. While encouraging a healthy, balanced diet and a focus on physical and mental fitness will undoubtedly help, we need to take allergy more seriously. The UK has a minimal specialist allergy service. Our GPs and nurses need greater support in helping to advise and treat patients with serious and increasingly complex allergy problems.
But in the many countries that I have visited, it is clear that more traditional, "natural" approaches are helpful too. Clinical trials of acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine and controlled breathing have shown benefit in asthma treatment. An area of great interest to my Foundation for Integrated Health is how to capitalise on this wealth of experience and to ensure that we can provide people with the best of complementary approaches alongside orthodox medicine.
All this needs to be part of a coordinated approach, linking a more effective and focused specialist service with frontline doctors and nurses to the needs of patients. Allergy is about lifestyle - what we eat and touch, and what we breathe. There are some things we can do individually, but collectively we need to create an environment that causes less allergy in the first place. My foundation is hoping to lead some work with the Royal College of Physicians and others looking at what can be done by adopting an integrated approach. It is time that all of us took allergy more seriously, particularly those engaged in public health who have the resources to improve things, and the British public who will continue to fall victim to the epidemic if we do not.
http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk
Pertussis adjuvant prolongs intestinal hypersensitivity.
Kosecka U, Berin MC, Perdue MH.
Intestinal Disease Research Programme, and Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada.
BACKGROUND: Immediate hypersensitivity reactions are a hallmark of allergic disease, and result in the clinical features of food allergy, hayfever, and atopic asthma. The mechanism by which an individual becomes sensitized to an ingested or airborne allergen is not clear, however exposure to bacteria or bacterial products that act as adjuvants may be a contributing factor. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of pertussis toxin (PT) in inducing intestinal hypersensitivity reactions, particularly the ability of the adjuvant to prolong the sensitization. METHODS: Rats were sensitized to ovalbumin (OA) by injection of OA alone or with 50 ng PT. Secretory responses to OA challenge and nerve stimulation were assessed in jejunal tissues mounted in Ussing chambers. RESULTS: Jejunal segments from rats sensitized to OA alone responded to antigen challenge with ion secretion, but sensitization was transient in that specific IgE titers and responses to luminal antigen disappeared by 14 days. In contrast, co-administration of 50 ng PT with OA resulted in long-lasting sensitization. Secretory responses to both luminal and serosal OA challenge were present 8 months after primary immunization. Enhanced secretory responses to nerve stimulation, increased mucosal mast cell numbers, as well as elevated IgE titers were also induced and may have contributed to the overall responsiveness of the intestine to antigen challenge. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate nanogram quantities of PT, when administered with a food protein, result in long-term sensitization to the antigen, and altered intestinal neuroimmune function. These data suggest that exposure to bacterial pathogens may prolong the normally transient immune responsiveness to inert food antigens.
Annals of Allergy, 1951; 9
"Cow's milk is one of the most frequent food allergens. Whole casein appears to be highly allergenic...85% of the patients presented a response to each of the four caseins. "
International Archives of Allergy and Immunology,
1998 Mar, 115:3
Is this why incidence if allergy is so high? Clin Immunol. 2001 Sep;100(3):355-61. Related Articles, Links
Infection of human B lymphocytes with MMR vaccine induces IgE class switching.
Imani F, Kehoe KE.
Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Asthma and Allergy Center,5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.fimani@mail.jhmi.edu
Circulating immunoglobulin E (IgE) is one of the characteristics of human allergic diseases including allergic asthma. We recently showed that infection of human B cells with rhinovirus or measles virus could lead to the initial steps of IgE class switching. Since many viral vaccines are live viruses, we speculated that live virus vaccines may also induce IgE class switching in human B cells. To examine this possibility, we selected the commonly used live attenuated measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine. Here, we show that infection of a human IgM(+) B cell line with MMR resulted in the expression of germ line epsilon transcript. In addition, infection of freshly prepared human PBLs with this vaccine resulted in the expression of mature IgE mRNA transcript. Our data suggest that a potential side effect of vaccination with live attenuated viruses maybe an increase in the expression of IgE. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.
PMID: 11513549 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The Sunday Times April 02, 2006
Number of children treated for nut allergies soars
Daniel Foggo
THE number of children treated for life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods has more than doubled in five years, according to government research.
Figures from the Department of Health show the number of Adrenalin injections prescribed for children under six suffering severe allergic reactions rose from 15,100 to 37,235 between 1999 and 2004, an increase of 146%.
Symptoms of the reaction, called an anaphylactic shock, range from severe flushes to nausea, vomiting, wheezing and swelling of the throat and mouth. In the worst cases, sufferers choke to death. About 20 people a year die from the condition.
Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and a member of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, a charity that lobbies for greater awareness of the condition, said: “These figures confirm what we have been saying for a while, which is that this is a growing problem. All the evidence points in one direction, which is a sudden and radical increase of anaphylaxis in the country.”
The increase remains largely unexplained but has been blamed on causes ranging from antibiotics to food additives and pesticides.
Research has found children are not born with allergy to peanuts and other nuts, but develop it in early childhood. Those who develop rashes and eczema in early infancy might be more vulnerable and some experts advise caution against bringing these children into contact with nuts at an early age.
Sufferers are liable to go into shock when they come into even mild contact with the substance to which they are allergic. These include peanuts, almonds, seafood and sesame. Bee stings and insect bites can also trigger attacks.
The body’s immune system malfunctions and releases chemicals such as histamine against substances it wrongly sees as a threat. Patients must quickly be given an injection of Adrenalin to bring their body back under control.
The figures show that, in addition to the rise in the number of injections for the youngest children, Adrenalin doses for adults and children aged seven and over went up from 35,900 to 79,900, an increase of 122%.
Each patient is typically given two doses of the drug to ensure they have at least one spare. The statistics, produced using data supplied by pharmacists, reinforce previous research.
In 2003, a study conducted by St George’s hospital, London, showed admissions for people suffering from serious allergies had jumped dramatically over the previous decade.
Earlier that year a report by the Royal College of Physicians also warned of a steep rise in allergies.
David Reading, director and co-founder of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, whose 17-year-old daughter Sarah died in 1993 after reacting to a peanuts in a dessert, said the government was ignoring the issue. “We are woefully short of trained allergists to deal with the explosion of anaphylaxis,” he said.
“Until now the Department of Health seemed to think there’s no need for drastic action. It is, however, now conducting a review of amenities in the country which, when it reports in the summer, will hopefully appreciate that the current services cannot cope.”
Lisa Blakemore-Brown, a child psychologist, said the research echoed anecdotal evidence she and colleagues had obtained. “When I qualified in 1984, anaphylaxis was almost unheard of, but now it is everywhere. One friend took his child, who suffers from it, to school and found there were half a dozen others with it,” she said.
Theories among medical professionals over the reason for the rise in allergies vary.
Dr Richard Halvorsen, a GP with a special interest in childhood vaccinations, said: “It could be the increased use of antibiotics, or the use of vaccines or pesticides, or additives in food. All of them have to be on the shortlist of suspects.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2114328,00.html
