Cause and side effects

http://web.mid-day.com/columns/farahbaria/parentthesis/2005/april/108011.htm
Mid-Day Mumbai, India
April 24, 2005

Cause and side effects
By: Farah Baria


A couple of months ago, a gentleman turned up at our door with a large
wooden box.

"Madam," he said gravely, thrusting his identification through the
grill,
"according to our records, you have not availed of the government's
Pulse
Polio Programme yesterday. Would you like to immunise your children
now?"
Impressed by the professorial tone, I let him in and summoned the kids.

Then, before I could say "vaccination," he opened the box, expertly
unscrewed a vial, administered the drops and vanished, leaving me
bemused
and vaguely uneasy.


Two days later, my seven-year-old daughter complained of a pain in the
leg.
I panicked and dialed my paediatrician, silently praying that she would
laugh it off and call me a neurotic hen. She did nothing of the sort.
"We'll
just have to wait and watch," was the ominous diagnosis. Eventually, it
turned out to be a false alarm.

False, but evidently not unfounded. Because the Oral Polio Vaccine
(OPV)
uses a live virus, at least one out of every 5,00,000 vaccinated
children
will actually contact the disease.

This is what doctors call the "theoretical risk" of immunisation, a
"statistically insignificant" number that justifies India's Pulse Polio
-
probably the most aggressive disease eradication campaign the world has
ever
seen.

But what if that one sacrificial lamb happens to be your own child?

I hesitate to ask this question because it is almost impossible to
point out
the potential hazards of inoculation - no matter how negligible they
may
be - without sounding irresponsible and alarmist.

The truth is that, across the globe, compulsory vaccination has managed
to
eradicate several killer diseases and saved millions of lives. In the
west,
it has eliminated, or sharply curtailed, polio, diphtheria, pertussis,
tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella.

But despite a meticulous immunisation campaign that has cost the
government
over Rs 2,000 crore, stray cases of polio continue to keep India on the
international pariah list. A leading Mumbai paediatrician once put this
down
to sheer public apathy, misinformation and parents' lack of commitment
to
the cause.

He is right, of course. Yet, there are two sides to every story. As
early as
1979, the prestigious American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP)'s Red Book
clearly stated that "although modern immunising agents are generally
considered safe and effective, they are neither completely safe, nor
completely effective".

As parents, I think it's important for us to know this, because, no
matter
how great the larger "cause" of eradication, our individual right to
make an
informed choice is greater.

And recent reports are disquieting, to say the least:

* The Hib Vaccine, which protects against meningitis, pneumonia and
other
serious infections, can cause allergic reactions, convulsions and
seriously
impair a child's immunity.

* Five years ago, the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles,
mumps and
rubella, kicked up a hullabaloo in the English Parliament, after
researchers
linked it to childhood autism.

* The DPT, which protects against diphtheria, whooping cough and
tetanus, is
the most controversial vaccine, indicted in both anaphylaxis, a
dangerous
allergic reaction and encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.

In fact, the Connaught Company, an American vaccine supplier, has
actually
issued the following warning in its package insert: "In a large,
controlled
study in England, children two to 35 months of age with serious, acute
neurological disorders such as encephalopathy or complicated
convulsions,
are more likely to have received DPT in the seven days preceding
onset."

More widely shared medical literature admits that about ten percent of
babies suffer from persistent crying spells and drowsiness, days after
the
DPT injection is administered.

Official reports are not far behind. In 1994, the American Center for
Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study of half a million kids
vaccinated with DPT and MMR shots in Atlanta, Georgia, and found 34
major
side effects including asthma, blood disorders, neurological disorders,
hearing loss and seizures. (The rate of seizures increased three times
above
the norm in the first few days after the shots).

Dr Lendon Smith, one of America's well-known paediatricians, cautions
that
vaccines can have "immediate, sometimes drastic" side effects. These
may
also be long-term and include behavioural problems like aggression and
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Worse, inoculation may not always be
effective.

In the UK, more than 2,00,000 cases of whooping cough have occurred in
fully
vaccinated kids since 1970. In Australia, where half the aboriginal
population is immunised and half is not, a study found that the
incidence of
the diseases is the same in each group.

And when the Japanese government decided to give the DPT shot at two
years
instead of at two months following rumours that it caused Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome (SIDS), the number of cot deaths dropped dramatically.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, studies like these show no "definite"
correlation between the vaccine and the side effect. Moreover there are
practically no long-term studies that conclusively link one to the
other.
And the graver reactions are pretty rare.

Yet, naturalists and an increasing number of mainstream doctors are
fiercely
opposed to compulsory inoculation.

Why?

Because it is an incontrovertible fact that vaccines put enormous
stress on
a child's inherent immunity.

The reason is simple. When a virus naturally enters the body, a
sequence of
defense mechanisms gets activated and gradually fights the invasion.

Once this well-orchestrated military maneuver is completed, the body
develops a resistance to the viral "enemy" and gets immunised against
further attacks. The process is automatic, and only a small part of the
system's immune capacity is utilised.

However, when a live or dead virus artificially enters the body via a
vaccine, it's like a sudden blitzkrieg that forces the immune system to
press the panic button and go into overdrive, dipping into standby
reserves.
The result: immunologic bankruptcy. Over time, repeated vaccinations
lower
the body's overall resistance to disease.

The question is, should we go ahead and "protect" our kids? Although I
am a
loyal devotee of natural medicine, I personally think we should, for
several
reasons.

Firstly, global eradication programs have probably lowered our
collective
immunity over the decades. Secondly, the widespread misuse of
antibiotics
has spawned a new army of mutant super bugs that can be potentially
deadly.

Public health experts warn that stopping vaccinations could lead to
global
pandemics that may wipe out entire populations. And finally, we simply
don't
have another cost-effective, viable alternative that can protect
millions of
kids around the world. As I see it, we actually have little choice but
to
inoculate.

But as a parent and consumer, at least let it be an informed,
calculated
choice that allows you to weigh the risks against the benefits.

While few of us in this country even question the standard immunisation
schedule, in the US, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986
actually makes information a fundamental right of all parents - and
also
provides the framework for compensation when things "go wrong".

Meanwhile, Dr Smith offers a simple way to minimise the trauma of
inoculations: on the day of the shot, plus one day before and after it,
he
prescribes an Immunity Cocktail: 1,000 mg vitamin C, 500 mg calcium and
100
mg vitamin B6.

Incidentally, nutritional therapy is not just an antidote; the World
Health
Organization recently admitted that good, wholesome food provides the
best
immunity we can give our children.

Many other paediatricians and parents also prefer to avoid the
"optional"
vaccines such as chicken pox, hepatitis A or typhoid altogether, and
let
Mother Nature do her job.

In the years to come, I hope we will all realise that no one does it
better.

Farah Baria is a journalist and mother of two

farah@xxxxxxxxxxx

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