Government concedes vaccine injury case
- From: rpautrey2 <rpautrey2@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 13:22:08 -0800 (PST)
Article Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080305/ap_on_he_me/autism_vaccines_5
Government concedes vaccine injury case
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer
Wed Mar 5, 6:12 PM ET
Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines
worsened a rare, underlying disorder that ultimately led to autism-
like symptoms in a Georgia girl, and that she should be paid from a
federal vaccine-injury fund.
Medical and legal experts say the narrow wording and circumstances
probably make the case an exception -- not a precedent for thousands of
other pending claims.
The government "has not conceded that vaccines cause autism," said
Linda Renzi, the lawyer representing federal officials, who have
consistently maintained that childhood shots are safe.
However, parents and advocates for autistic children see the case as a
victory that may help certain others. Although the science on this is
very limited, the girl's disorder may be more common in autistic
children than in healthy ones.
"It's a beginning," said Kevin Conway, a Boston lawyer representing
more than 1,200 families with vaccine injury claims. "Each case is
going to have to be proved on its individual merits. But it shows to
me that the government has conceded that it's biologically plausible
for a vaccine to cause these injuries. They've never done it before."
A lawyer for the 9-year-old girl has scheduled a news conference in
Atlanta on Thursday. Her parents have declined to comment in the
meantime because the case is not final and the payment amount has not
been set.
Nearly 5,000 families are seeking compensation for autism or other
developmental disabilities they blame on vaccines and a mercury-based
preservative, thimerosal. It once was commonly used to prevent
bacterial contamination but since 2001 has been used only in certain
flu shots. Some cases contend that the cumulative effect of many shots
given at once may have caused injuries.
The cases are before a special "vaccine court" that doles out cash
from a fund Congress set up to pay people injured by vaccines and to
protect makers from damages as a way to help ensure an adequate
vaccine supply. The burden of proof is lighter than in a traditional
court, and is based on a preponderance of evidence. Since the fund
started in 1988, it has paid roughly 950 claims -- none for autism.
Studies repeatedly have discounted any link between thimerosal and
autism, but legal challenges continue. The issue even cropped up in
the presidential campaign, with Republican John McCain asserting on
Friday that "there's strong evidence" autism is connected to the
preservative.
The girl has a disorder involving her mitochondria, the energy
factories of cells. The disorder -- which can be present at birth from
an inherited gene or acquired later in life -- impairs cells' ability
to use nutrients, and often causes problems in brain functioning. It
can lead to delays in walking and talking.
Federal officials say the law bars them from discussing the case or
releasing documents without the family's permission. However, The
Associated Press obtained a copy of the concession by U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services officials.
According to the document, five vaccines the girl received on one day
in 2000 aggravated her mitochondrial condition, predisposing her to
metabolic problems that manifested as worsening brain function "with
features of autism spectrum disorder." In the 1990s, the definition of
autism was expanded to take in a group of milder, related conditions,
which are known as autism spectrum disorders.
The document does not address whether it was the thimerosal -- or
something else entirely in the vaccines -- that was at fault.
The compensation fund lists problems with brain function as a rare
side effect of certain vaccines. Such problems are enough on their own
to warrant compensation, even without autism-like symptoms, and the
fund has made numerous payouts in such cases.
The Health Resources and Services Administration, which is in charge
of the fund, said: "HRSA has maintained and continues to maintain the
position that vaccines do not cause autism."
A Portuguese study suggested that 7 percent of autistic children might
also have the mitochondrial disorder, versus one in 5,000 people -- or
0.02 percent -- in the general population, said Dr. Marvin Natowicz, a
Cleveland Clinic geneticist.
"Even if they're off by a factor of seven" and only 1 percent are
afflicted, "it's still a striking statistic," he said.
Others said they doubt the Georgia case will have much effect.
"No link between mitochondrial disorders and autism spectrum disorder
has been made in mainstream medicine," said Dr. Michael Pichichero of
the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., who has consulted for
the government on vaccines and has received speaking fees from vaccine
makers.
A decision is expected this spring on the first test case for a larger
group of autism-vaccine claims, which are being heard in the U.S.
Court of Federal Claims.
Reported cases of autism have been rising in the U.S., even after
thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines. However, some
experts believe the rise is due to an expansion of the definition of
autism and related conditions, and a desire to diagnose children so
they qualify for special services and aid.
___
Associated Press writer Kristen Gelineau in Richmond, Va., and medical
writer Mike Stobbe in Atlanta contributed to this story.
___
On the Net:
U.S. Court of Federal Claims: http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov
Vaccine injury fund: http://www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation
CDC autism page: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.htm
American Academy of Pediatrics autism reports:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/oct07autism.htm
Copyright (c) 2008 The Associated Press
Copyright (c) 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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